Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
The spring issue of ITAM CAS Newsletter has been published. You can look forward to an article from the Department of Lime Technologies about Baroque stucco techniques, using x-ray tomography, we will read a curse tablet and you will find out more about the topic of degradation of microstructure of concrete in agressive environment in an article from the Department of Materials Research. This and more, you can find in the new Newsletter 1/2020 here. The Czech version can be found here..
The editorial from Newsletter 1/2020:
Dear friends of science,
The new newsletter of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in front of you, is
largely devoted to the field of cultural heritage protection and materials research. That is good;
activities in these areas lead to learning about the technological processes of our ancestors, from
which it is possible to draw even today. One of the world chess champions once said: "The start of
the game does not have to be new, it just needs to be well forgotten." This occured to me as I
followed the research of Baroque stucco techniques, or the process of uncovering the secrets of
rolled up lead slices with a more or less dark curse by scattering photons on a shallow engraved
font. The staff of the Laboratory of X-ray Tomography from our Centre Telč is able to do that with
the help of equipment using biaxial X-rays and large-area detectors of the TORATOM set.
In addition to these extremely interesting contributions, the new issue also brings
information on research into the chemical degradation of concrete, which was published in a
prestigious world journal, as well as information on the activities of the Department of Heritage
Science at the SCOLA TELCZ workshop.
Activities in the field of monument protection are the result of ITAM‘s many years of
successful involvement in the international context, especially in the Interreg and Horizon2020
programs. At home, ITAM succeeded with a project linking the approaches of technical, natural and
social sciences within the AV21 Strategy. The next issue of the Newsletter will focus on those
results. Maybe you have something to look forward to.
Stanislav Pospíšil, director of ITAM CAS
17 Jun 2020
