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(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Notre Dame nuclear physicists Philippe Collon and Michael Wiescher are using accelerated ion beams to pinpoint the age and origin of material used in pottery, painting, metalwork and other art. The results of their tests can serve as powerful forensic tools to reveal counterfeit art work, without the destruction of any sample as required in some chemical analysis.

Recent breakthroughs have enabled scientists from the Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Devices to build cameras that can see more than one optical waveband or "color" in the dark. The semiconducting material used in the cameras – called type-II superlattices – can be tuned to absorb a wide range of infrared wavelengths, and now, a number of distinct infrared bands at the same time.