The Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious symbols on Earth, regarded by millions of Christians in the world as a cloth used to shroud and store the image of Jesus.
The "picture of Jesus" on the Turin shroud is controversial
According to National Geographic, more than 117 years since the negative image of the linen cloth with the shape of a bearded man, full of torture, is said to be Jesus , many scientists have entered and caused the endless controversy.
The image of a bearded man with torture marks on a cloth known as Jesus.(Photo: EPA)
In 1969, a group of 33 US-led scientists were allowed to directly examine the fabric, to prepare technical advice for preservation and testing in the future. This approach is a premise for scientists to be allowed to access the fabric again for five consecutive days in 1978.
The team carried 7 tons of equipment, worked hard 24 hours a day, under the supervision of a European Association of Scientists. Finally, they concluded there was no human impact on the marks on the fabric.
"The images on the cloth are actually a man's, crucified and tortured. The marks on the cloth are blood stains, containing components of blood such as hemoglobin (the component of red blood cells) and abumin (component of plasma), " reported the research team published in 1981. However, the report also acknowledged that it is not possible to explain all the mysteries of the fabric.
In 1988, the Vatican allowed scientists to examine the fabric by means of carbon radioactive isotope 14. A small corner of the cloth was sent to three different laboratories, belonging to the University of Oxford, University of Arizona. and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. All three have the same conclusion that the cloth was born between 1260-1390, more than a thousand years after Jesus died.
This result became more and more convincing when it coincided with the first documents on the fabric dating back to 1353. However, the results of the computer test later showed that the age of the cloth was determined by the method. This is not really reliable.
"The age of the fabric at the top and bottom of the shroud is not the same," said Riani of Rome University in 2000. " Our research does not confirm whether the fabric is real or its age is 2,000 years. , but based on the carbon isotope method to say the new medieval fabric is not accurate. "
This difference may be due to the "dilution effect" of carbon 14 - a radioactive carbon isotope . This is an atmospheric element, plants absorb during photosynthesis. This amount of carbon passes through animals when they eat plants.
When plants and animals die, radioactive 14 carbon disappears, while non-radioactive carbon isotopes remain constant. So, with organic samples, scientists only need to calculate the ratio of radioactive carbon to the non-radioactive carbon isotopes of the sample that will determine their age.
This method has been widely used for decades to determine the exact age of antiquities. This is also a way to detect fake artifacts. However, the increased use of fossil fuels, more carbon emissions into the atmosphere has been affecting the accuracy of this method. Specifically, if there is too much non-radioactive carbon from the absorbed gas, this ratio will be "diluted ", causing the new item to have the same carobon ratio as the antiquity. With the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050, new clothes can have the same ratio of two carbon types with 1,000-year-old artifacts.
Simulate the image on the canvas (left) and the old image (right) according to the actual size.(Photo: Marco Ansaloni / NG)
Another question has not been answered, which is how the image on the canvas formed. Every attempt to reproduce the image the same way it was printed on the shroud failed. When staining a linen fabric, the dye only penetrates into a thin layer, smaller than 0.7 micrometers - equivalent to one-third of the diameter of a fabric, not as deep as the color layer on the real fabric.
Physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro and colleagues of the National Agency for Technology, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy, conducted experiments for five years, trying to reproduce the same image. as on "Shroud of Turin."
In the study published in 2011, the research team reported using high-power ultraviolet rays fired at the cloth, but also only reproduced the approximate color with a few square centimeters on the cloth, but could not reproduce. the whole physical and chemical characteristics of the image on the canvas, as well as the entire image of "crucified Jesus."
According to Lazzaro, they use the most modern ultraviolet rays in the 21st century. It requires "time pulses shorter than 1/40 billion of a second, and intensity of a few billion watts. " If modern technology most people cannot do it now, how do people fake it in medieval times? The physicist asks questions.
The Vatican did not give any official notice of the authenticity of the cloth, but it increased the faith of believers to the Lord. Pope John Paul II once said in 1998: "The Church empowers scientists to continue seeking truth."
Despite the fabric controversy, many people still believe that cloth plays an important spiritual role.
" I believe it is true. I believe from the bottom of my heart," said Marco Mazzoni, an Italian who came to see the Mayor's cloth shroud in May. "It represents the pain of Jesus, and his sacrifice for all."
