MOSCOW, May 22. G. R. Derzhavin TSU scientists have developed a multi-range method for studying the fine microstructure of wood. In their opinion, it will help archaeologists to more accurately determine the age of wooden artifacts, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science reported. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts.
Wood research is of particular interest to historians due to the wide use of the material: people have been building wooden houses for centuries, making useful utensils, musical instruments, toys and jewelry from wood. — a kind of chronicle of the period in which the plant grew and developed, said the researchers of the Tambov State University (TSU) named after G. R. Derzhavin, subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.
Knowledge of the dependence of the micromechanical properties of early and late wood on the characteristics of its cellular structure, structure and thickness in each annual growth ring allows scientists to develop fundamentally new, more accurate tools in the field of dendrochronology.
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“It turned out that the general pattern “the finer the structure, the stronger the material,” established in physical materials science for other classes of materials, is also true for wood. The spatial resolution of our methods makes it easy to distinguish not only annual growth rings, but also intra-annular variations in properties, as well as to isolate and characterize the mechanical properties of single cell walls, which requires nanometer spatial resolution,” said a participant in the scientific project, Professor of TSU named after G. R. Derzhavin Yuri Golovin.
The results obtained by physicists, in their opinion, will be useful to fellow archaeologists for more accurate dating of ancient wooden buildings, ships, art and household items, and musical instruments. Using the proposed method, it is also possible to reconstruct the chronology of volcanic eruptions, meteorite and asteroid impacts in the distant past.
Based on the results obtained, scientists plan to develop a line of specialized micromechanical indentometers that can replace traditional optical systems for study of the annual rings of wood. The advantage of the new instruments will be improved spatial resolution in the analysis of annual rings. In addition, the proposed micromechanical approach eliminates the human factor that occurs when using traditional optical instruments.
The project will be implemented as part of the program of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science «Priority-2030» — one of the measures of state support for universities of the national project «Science and Universities».