[Vision2020] why a scientist would be interested in the Shroud

[Frank Cheng]

After reading some of the comments on this forum I
felt compelled to address the reasons why a tax-payer
support scientist such as myself would want to study
the Shroud. 

I began my scientific interest as a teenager
“splitting” water to hydrogen and oxygen with car
batteries in the garage. The hydrogen flames were
great fun I must admit. That lead me to study
chemistry then on to grad school to study the
splitting of water with solar energy (which is very
impractical even now). The generation of hydrogen from
water involves reaction known as oxidation/reduction
reactions, which lead to my first faculty position
where I became interested biological oxidations. These
reactions are the pathological bases of many diseases
including cancers and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Naturally, that lead me to become interested in
antioxidants which prevents those conditions. I do
this work for the NIH. Learning what I could about
antioxidants led me to understand about how to more
efficiently set off oxidations of pollutants and
nerve-agents using only water, iron particles, and
refined dirt, completely destroying these nasties in
an open unheated beaker on my lab bench. I do this
with funding from the NSF and EPA. Learning about
these reactions has lead to a better understanding on
my part of batteries and fuel cells which have a
series of oxidation/reduction reactions. I develop
these for the Navy and industry. 

Where does the Shroud fit in all of this? The fibers
on the Shroud were oxidized in a fashion not at all
completely understood. Was this from bodily compounds
emitted in death? I’m still learning. Why even
consider the oxidation of Shroud fibers? Because the
Shroud fibers are made of bio-polymers, and we are
made of bio-polymers. The reactive oxidizing compounds
emitted by the poor man’s body (it could have been
from Christ) was probably the result of trauma which
results in inflammation which heightens biological
oxidations. It could also be a very good forgery which
still merits investigation.

So by considering the oxidation of the Shroud fibers I
am also studying:

Solar energy conversion
Batteries
Fuel Cells
Cancer
Alzheimer’s
Antioxidants
Environmental Remediation Methods
And also if this really is the burial cloth of Christ.

Many more also. No one person has the collective
wisdom to predict where a human endeavor such a
scientific investigation will lead.

I hope this helps.

Frank Cheng


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/