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livescience.com
by
Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | September 01,
2015
TORONTO
— A 13th-century text recording the discoveries of a medieval polymath, a handwritten
dictionary that may help decipher ancient texts, a magical text dating back
hundreds of years and writings etched on palm leaves that record centuries of
history. All of these and many more are in danger of being lost to the
elements.
In
this race against time, a team of engineers and archivists are developing a
solar-powered device to
safeguard historical treasures in India.
These
documents are written on organic materials that become increasingly fragile
over time. Exposure to humidity, sunlight and insects can ravage the texts,
while storing them at temperatures that are too high or low can speed up the
documents' decay. [In
Photos: Medieval Manuscript Reveals Ghostly Faces]
What
librarians, archivists and conservators try to do is preserve the most fragile
texts in areas where humidity and temperature can be easily controlled, taking
them out briefly to be put on display or for study. However for facilities in
the developing world this can be a problem as the energy needed to power
dehumidifiers and air-conditioning equipment may not be available or
affordable.
The
new solar-powered device that researchers are developing may help solve this
problem. The machine itself is remarkably simple: Texts are placed in an
insulated container with a dehumidifier and temperature-control mechanism. Solar
cells power the equipment, while batteries store power when there
isn't enough sunlight.
Additionally,
when conditions in the container are just right, the device will automatically
power down, conserving energy so that it can automatically turn on when the
humidity and temperature rise.
"As
long as the documents aren't accessed all day long, the power requirements
aren't that hefty," said Harrison King-McBain, an engineering graduate student
from the University of Toronto.
India
treasures
Colin
Clarke, the director of the Canadian Centre for Epigraphic Documents, said he
became aware of the need for such a device during a trip to Kerala, India, last
September. A professional librarian, Clarke had been invited to the Eighth
World Syriac Conference hosted by the St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute,
which is part of the Mahatma Gandhi University. Syriac
is a dialect of Aramaic, and was used by Christians throughout Asia, as far
east as China.
While in Kerala, Clarke examined historical text collections in local churches
and monasteries.
The
libraries had palm-leaf documents, dating back hundreds of years and written in
Malayalam, a Classical Indian language widely used in the area. There were also
manuscripts written in Syriac. One text that Clarke is particularly excited
about dates to the 13th century and may have been written by a man named Bar
Hebraeus, a
polymath who wrote about literature, science, philosophy, religion, history
and medicine, Clarke said. [See
Photos of 19th-Century Medical Texts]
"The
13th-century manuscript may have been written by Bar Hebraeus himself,"
Clarke said. "Bar Hebraeus was one of the greatest thinkers of his day.
This is like having a manuscript written in Aristotle's own hand. Definitely,
this would be a world treasure, if the attribution is correct."
Providing
humidity and temperature control is challenging. A corepiscopa (a country
bishop) in charge of a large manuscript repository told Clarke that even if the
repository had the equipment, the owners would not be able to afford the energy
needed to operate it.
Clarke
promised to help. When he returned to Canada, he contacted King-McBain and
Michael Cino, a graduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.
The team has constructed a "proof of concept" device that shows how
the device will work, demonstrating it at the University of Toronto on Aug.
19.
The
team has also found a place in Kottayam, Kerala, India, to build the solar
units. Clarke said that a solar technology firm is now needed to finish
development and help with construction. Clarke asks anyone who can help to
contact him through the CCED website.
Help
required
The
solar-powered device requires no fuel and is designed so that it needs little
or no maintenance, said King-McBain. The team kept the design as simple as
possible, using off-the-shelf components to keep costs down. The device has no
moving parts that can easily break down.
The
unit will cost between roughly $3,000 and $5,000, an amount that Clarke said
would be difficult for facilities in developing countries to afford. The Canadian Centre for Epigraphic Documents is
trying to raise enough funds so that a few of these devices can be constructed
and installed at facilities in India, Clarke said.
There
are ways in which the device can be improved. One problem is that texts made of
different materials often require different temperature and humidity levels.
This means that one device may only be able to preserve texts made of one type
of material.
Often
a repository will have texts made of different materials that require different
environmental settings. Installing two or more units with different
environmental settings in these facilities is an option, but that would raise
the cost, Clarke said. Another option would be for the container to have
different compartments, the environment in the compartments configured to hold
texts made with different materials. However, this would make the design more
complex.
"The
team is working against time and cost," Clarke said. "Irreplaceable
texts are in danger of being lost through environmental factors. We have the
solution. Now we need the support to fix this problem," Clarke said.