Saturday, August 6, 1977 THE MICHIGAN DAILY :age Three W pros use reac prof uniq coin Gt cudi on t like whit '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.