Documents / Report
This undated synopsis from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) reports on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's analysis of a layered magnesium-zinc specimen with bismuth bands. The specimen is claimed to come from a UAP crash around 1947, and some say it can reduce inertial mass. Using microscopy, spectroscopy and isotope analysis, ORNL found that the bismuth could not have acted as a terahertz waveguide. It concluded that the material was manufactured on Earth and later damaged by heat and mechanical stress.
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen2 Methods All analyses and materials utilization were authorized and overseen by TTSA via the DEVCOM CRADA, and all analyses were preapproved by AARO and DEVCOM before ORNL received the specimen. Morphology and microstructural characteristics were investigated using the following techniques. • Optical microscopy: standard microscope analysis that allows imaging of microstructural features. • Computerized tomography, aka CT scan: X-ray imaging procedure that produces a 3D image of a sample without damaging it, revealing interior structural features. • Scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS): technique that produces 2D images at higher resolution to allow analysis of microstructure and elemental makeup. • (Scanning) transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy ([S]TEM-EDS): a suite of techniques that pass a high-energy (e.g., 200 kV) electron beam through a thin (<200 nm) foil of sample, allowing analysis of crystal structure, grain and feature morphology, and defects, as well as elemental makeup, all with nanometer to subnanometer resolution. Analyses of bulk chemical, elemental, and isotopic composition used mass spectrometry techniques, a suite of widely used analytical techniques that identify elements, their abundance within a sample (including very trace quantities), and their isotopic composition. Traceable quality control standards and method blanks were run throughout all analyses to monitor sample integrity and instrument performance. Results Morphology and Structure Data are consistent across multiple imaging approaches, showing that the material consists of distinct layers that merge and diverge at various points throughout the material. Interfaces showed fractures and other features that ORNL determined are consistent with a material that was originally whole but was strained by heat exposure and mechanical forces, possibly for extended periods. Figure 2 shows images of the specimen constructed using CT. Figure 2. Images produced via CT showing multiple angles of the bulk specimen, showcasing features including the layer nature of the material (bottom left) and edge with probable heat damage (bottom right). Units: trace elements are in parts per million (micrograms per gram of sample) 3813 2859 215.13 55.1 36.96 28.99 10.618 0.5922 0.1328 0.0465 Bi Pb Tl Fe Cd Mn Au Mo Sn Ва ELEMENT AVERAGE Table 1. Trace element composition of the specimen (sans the bulk magnesium-zinc matrix), in decreasing order of abundance. All are considered “trace,” at less than 0.1% abundance. Gray reflects results from inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES); Blue reflects results from high- resolution ICP-MS. Chemical Composition Analysis using SEM-EDS determined that magnesium and zinc are the primary elements present in the specimen, comprising approximately 97.5% and 2% of the material, respectively. Minor elements detected (Table 1) were lead (Pb) and bismuth (Bi) (Figure 3), with lesser trace amounts of iron (Fe) and manganese
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Report, from the aaro collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 10 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.