Autoradiography of radioactive photographic images - applications to intensification, restoration, precision etching, photomechanical reproduction and photographic research.

Applications of nuclear science to photographic techniques are described. They are related to the observation that autoradiography of radioactive silver images confers three unique benefits on the process of photography: (i) Information can be retrieved from a much smaller number of silver grains in a developed negative than is required using the transmission of visible light. This means that lower exposures are acceptable. (ii) Films used to record radiations of reasonable penetrating power (as in radiography with X-rays or neutrons) are no longer required to be transparent. This permits a much wider selection of materials for use in their fabrication. (iii) Photographs toned with isotopes which emit densely ionising radiation will produce a radiation damage pattern in any surface which contacts them. In many such surfaces, etching techniques can reproduce the photograph as a high fidelity intaglio image. Such etchings can provide much more faithful relief reproductions of the photograph than were possible by previous methods. Experimental work is described on the application of these principles to the intensification of underexposed and faded photographs, to precision etching and to the multiple reproduction of photographs by printing. A literature survey is also included,together with some speculation on the possible future interactions between nuclear science and photography