{"id":10138,"date":"2016-08-22T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T21:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/?p=10138"},"modified":"2025-03-27T07:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:50:08","slug":"many-uses-x-rays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marinersmuseum.org\/2016\/08\/many-uses-x-rays\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Uses of X-rays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earlier this year we conducted a survey<\/a> of all the small metal objects waiting to be conserved. We assessed the condition of each, took a photo, and changed solutions. We also slated some objects for x-radiography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three reasons these particular objects were singled out. First is to determine the condition of the object. When artifacts are submerged in seawater they are covered in a cement-like aggregate called concretion. This is a mixture of metal corrosion products, sediment, and sea life, including mollusk and corals. Concretions can be a thin hard shell scattered across a surface or entirely encase a group of objects in an amorphous lump. By x-raying these concretions we can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n