• Categories:Museum news
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• Time of issue:2021-03-08
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(Summary description)A research team at Nagoya University in Japan has developed a new method that can accurately determine the age of wood used in ruins or cultural relics.This method does not distinguish between tree species,only a small amount of wood samples is required,and it can be accurate to the year as a unit,the measurement time is short,and the cost is low.The new detection method uses the phenomenon that the ratio of oxygen isotope in wood cellulose is affected by the precipitation of the year.There are three stable isotopes of oxygen in nature-Oxygen 16,Oxygen 17,and Oxygen 18.Oxygen 16 has the highest content.Cellulose is a macromolecular polysaccharide composed of glucose and is the main component of plant cell walls.Researchers found that in years with more rain,the ratio of oxygen isotope with low mass in cellulose becomes higher;in years with less precipitation,the ratio of oxygen isotope with high mass increases.The research team measured wood from modern times to 2000 years ago,and summarized the variation patterns of oxygen isotope ratios in wood.They found that,except for some areas such as Hokkaido,the wood tested in all parts of the Japanese archipelago showed the same pattern of changes regardless of the species.Researchers believe that by detecting the variation pattern of oxygen isotope ratios in wood samples,and comparing them with other data already obtained,the age of wood can be more accurately determined.