Saturday, August 6, 1977
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
:age Three
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'U prof uses reactor to analyze coins
By LINDA MORAGNE times, collecting metai from the surface Gordus made headlines several years Some of the coins that have bee
layer, ago when he discovered that honors stu- alyzed are Islamic or Arabic coins
hen Professor Adon G oar d u s goes dents have more zinc in their hair than new method allows the historia
peeting for gold and silver he doesn't The streaks on the quartz are then other students. trace these coins to their place of
a pan and shovel-he uses a nuclear taken to the nuclear engineering' build- ing or production. Many of these
tor. Gordus, a University chemistry ing on North Campus, where they are So far, he has not contemplated any belong to the University; others are
essor since 1956, has developed a irradiated for two hours in a nuclear business ventures involving his quartz private collections.
ue 'streak' m e t h o d of analyzing reactor, streak method, but he has traveled to
museums and analyzed private collec- He and his asso-ites hare exa
s. "From the types and amonits of raids- tions merely "to gather information more than 5,I0xS atncient and me
ardus days he and others-including activity found on the quartz, the fineness beneficial and of interest to historians." coins.
ergraduate students-began working and the levels of impurities can be de- One University historian, Prof. Andrew .u. .
this project a couple years ago. Un- termined," according to Gordus. Ehrenkruetz, said this coin analysis Gordus s:ys inddutls can det
its predecessor, a chemical method Gordus noted that there is a difference method has been invaluable to the de- acoin': aithenticity by checkin
ch destroys c o i n s, Prof. Gordus' between authentic silver coins and mod- partment of Near Eastern Studies. gravityIane. ty saocon be
en an-
T. he
ns to
strik-
coins
from
mined
dieval
rmine
g the
e pur-
>bserve
ethod is "nn-destructive." It calls for em silver coins. The difference lies in Ehrenkruetz said the level of price the coin with a microscope As a last
a sampling of the coin to be obtained and the levels of goald impurity-modern "depended upon the intrinsic quality of resort, a collector interesa.d in the quair
treated. silver has no gold impurities, coinage" ity of a coin can use the streak method
Gordus uses tweezers to hold a small Gordus' streak m e t h a d also allows "Before the quartz method was devel- of coin anlysis. Gordns sut.etsed that an
piece of high-purity quartz tubing which scientists to trace the coin back to its oped, it was difficult to determine the analysis of this type will cost approxi-
is rubbed against the object five or' six general area of origin. intrinsic quality of the coin," he said. mately $5
'U' Botanical gardens
have f lora for stud y ,,
By RON DeKETT
Tired of seeing the same old
faces? Want to spend an hour or
so experiencing the diversity of
nature? Then visit the Matthaei
Botanical Gardens, and view the
flora splendor from around the
world every day of the year ex-
cept Christnmas, when the plants
take a day off.
The Gardens, a 250 acre site,
is located about five and one
T d
half miles northeast of the cen-
tral campus on Dixboro .Road
and according to its director,
lDr. William Benninghoff, "this
is one of the older Botanical
Gardens attached to a univer-
sity."
Benninghoff said there are
about 730 species of plants grow-
ing wild outdoors - more than
half of the flora species in the
county. Under cultivation out-
doors the Garden beiasts of 500
plants and 250 species of flora.
Count
will m
decide
a tent
ing of
The
ment
gotiat
which
appoi
sP(
the U
which
r U s VISITORS CANenjoy
the flowers, medicinal herbs,
tO creeks, ponds, a reconstituted
prairie and nature trail .The
main building houses a research
center, classrooms and three
climate-controlled, glass-enclos-
el rooms displaying flora from
climates throughout the world.
.Judging by the guest sign-in
a t book, Benninghoff said, about
70,0011 persons visit the Garden.
each year and the number is
growing. tlurHwever, he said only
By SUE WARNER -_bot half the people bother to
obers of thc Washtenaw sign the book.
y u Blding Tirades Council The roims are classified by
eet tomorri ss afternoon to different climatic regions and
whether they wilt ratify collectively contain almost 2,50
ative contract proposal be- different types of vegetation. -
fered by the University. fne of the rooms even contain-
proposed contract agree- ed a Coca Plant - the plant
was reached during a ne- from which cocaine is derived
ing s e s s i on Thunday -but it mysteriously dis-p.
was attended by a state- peared one night.
rted mediator.
THE FIRST ROOM is the ;
JKESPERSONS far both Tropical Room. It contains
niversity and the council, flora from the tropical regions
represents over 300 skilled of the world. Some of the more An unidentified artist attempts toc
See TRADES, Page 10 See GARDENS, Page 10 scene of the University owned Mat
TODAY
Daily Photo by ALAN BILIINSKY
capture the serenity of nature on canvass. He is painting a
thaei Botantical Gardens on Dixboro Road.
II I 11
Poison pen
It may not pay to protest, but you should at least
be able to protest when you have to pay or so thinks
a Duke University taw student. Saul Kerpelman was
scrawling unfavorable comments against the Duke
Power Co. on the back of his monthly utility pay-
ment "to ridicule, express scorn for and encourage
public awareness of . . . unreasonable, unjust and
unfair profit structures" of the company until the
power company filed a complaint against him for
obscenities on mailed items. Undaunted, Kerpelman
has filed suit against the North Carolina U.S. At-
torney and the local postmaster., Whatever happened
to the good old days of folding, spindling and mu-
tilating? May we suggest a protest punched into an
IBM card, the computer may listen.
Jai ffor sale .
.Ever dreat- about life behind bars or thik of
locking someone not so near and dear up for a while?
Well, Lime Springs, Iowa can make alt your dreams
come true. It seems that life is so peaceful and quiet
and it's citizens so law abiding they have no need
for the town jail. "The only thing I can remember
we have used the jail for in the last 17 years is to
sober up the town drunk," says Lenny Peter, mayor
of the town of 500. So, the old place is going up for
sale, City Council will take bids this week. Anybody
having trouble finding a place for fall?
Happenings ...
. . . for the young (ages one to nine), a children's
festival will be held at West Park from 10 a.m. until
2 p.m. today. The fun includes a puppet show, pet-
ting zoo, magician and musicians. That's the extent
of Saturday's good times . . Sunday features only
the opening of the Ann Arbor Art Association's "A
Bit of Whimsy" display, with works by four local
artists including ceramics, batik and fiber works.
The display, at 117 W. Liberty, will be open from
3 p.m. until S and run through August 31 ... Things
get back together Monday with an evening concert
by the University Summer Session Band, Allan Mc-
Murray conducting, 7 p.m. at the School of Music
reflecting pool., Other musical happenings include
the week-long National Choral Showcase at the
School of Music, featuring several workshops and
programs. For information call 764-0593. For those
who plan ahead, an art exhibit by Moyo Roho at
Trotter House will open August 14 at 7:30 p.m.
On the Outside
It will be icky, sticky all weekend as August finally
gets its muggy act together. Expect a cloudy, hot,
humid 85 today with possible thundershowers. Night-
time shouldn't be too bad with the temp in the low
to mid 60's. Sunday will be a re-run of today, but the
sun may pop through a little more. Plan on more
thundershowers and a high of 86.