Neutron Absorption Hypothesis
Thomas Phillips of Harvard University was one of the first people to suggest that there could have been a radiocarbon enrichment of the Shroud due to neutron emissions from the body of Jesus Christ during the resurrection. This idea was raised in a letter published in the February 1989 edition of Nature which released the Shroud dating test report but the letter received a dismissive reply from one of the Oxford radiocarbon scientists responsible for that test. However, in the years since 1989, several other scientists have produced research evidence which supports the claim that neutron radiation could possibly account for the Shroud’s medieval radiocarbon dating result.
One of the first to perform experiments to study how neutron irradiation affects the radiocarbon dating measurements of linen fabric was a biophysicist from the University of Montpellier named Father Jean-Baptiste Rinaudo. He exposed samples of ancient linen to neutron radiation and found that this dramatically increased the radiocarbon content, causing radiocarbon dating measurements to give results that are much younger than the true age of the material. This is because the neutron radiation causes the transformation of nitrogen atoms in the linen into carbon-14, which increases the amount of radiocarbon already present.
Neutron Emission Simulation
Nuclear physicist Robert Rucker, who had experience of using nuclear analysis computer software to perform complex safety calculations, took this research a step further in 2014. He used the same computer software to simulate what would happen if neutrons were emitted from a body lying in a limestone tomb with a design typical of first century Jerusalem rock tombs. He made several assumptions:
- The body was lying face up on a limestone shelf at the back of the tomb
- The right side of the body was closest to the wall at the back of the tomb
- Neutrons would be emitted in all directions and in equal numbers from all parts of the body
- The body was wrapped in a linen cloth which matched the way that the Shroud had wrapped the body of Jesus
He also calculated the radiation intensity needed to shift the radiocarbon date of the cloth by 1300 years in the area of the cloth nearest the feet, which is where the Shroud dating sample came from.
His simulation showed that the greatest intensity of radiation would be where the Shroud covered the abdomen and that the intensity reduced towards the feet, which is the area of the cloth selected for the carbon dating sample. It accurately predicted the C-14 dating measurements obtained by the three laboratories that were progressively older along the length of the sample strip. His model also predicted that if the C-14 sample had been taken from the chest area of the Shroud which had received the most intense radiation, the dating result obtained by the laboratories would have been 8500 AD!
These neutron emission predictions made in 2014 have received some support from research undertaken in 2019 by Thomas McAvoy. He analysed a set of ultraviolet fluorescence photographs of the Shroud using image analysis software to determine the fluorescence intensity at various points on the Shroud and found that the intensity varied significantly over the surface of the cloth. He then compared this variation of fluorescence intensity with the variation in neutron radiation intensity predicted by Bob Rucker’s simulation. This showed that the fluctuation in fluorescence intensity corresponded to the predicted fluctuation in radiation intensity across the area of the cloth.
Evidence from Shroud Blood Analysis
Giulio Fanti has also obtained research results that appear to support the neutron absorption hypothesis. He took tiny fragments of blood that had been removed from the Shroud during previous scientific examinations and analysed them using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy. This is a non-destructive method of analysing samples to identify their constituent elements.
The nitrogen content of blood is usually around 10% and when his test equipment was used with a typical sample of human blood, the spectrum showed a clear peak corresponding to nitrogen. However, in his tests of each of the three fragments of blood from different areas of the Shroud, the nitrogen peak was barely visible.
There is no obvious reason why the nitrogen content of blood should have reduced so drastically over time. It’s clearly possible that this anomaly could have been caused by neutron radiation transforming nitrogen from the blood into carbon-14. However, not all scientists are convinced by this as they believe it unlikely that neutron radiation alone could account for the apparent absence of nitrogen in the Shroud blood.
The following links provide further information on the Neutron Absorption Hypothesis
Effects of neutron irradiation on linen fibres and
consequences for a radiocarbon dating. A paper by Francesco Barbesino and Mario Moroni presented at the Shroud Science Group International Conference, Ohio (2008)
Production of Radiocarbon by Neutron Radiation on Linen. A research paper by Arthur Lind et al presented at the International Workshop on the Scientific Approach to the Acheiropoietos Images, ENEA, Italy (2010)
The Carbon Dating Problem for the Shroud of Turin, Part 3: The Neutron Absorption Hypothesis A research paper by Robert A Rucker (2018)
Analysis of UV Photographs of the Shroud of Turin. A research paper by Thomas McAvoy published in Applied Optics Vol. 58, Issue 25 (2019)
Could an anomaly in Turin Shroud blood reopen the 1988 radiocarbon dating result? Article by Giulio Fanti and Michael Kowalski published in published in BSTS Newsletter No. 94, December 2021
