The ZEISS Xradia 410 Versa microtomography system is used by INGV researchers to explore the internal microstructure of rocks at very high resolution and thus study important processes such as those that occur in magma chambers and during the ascent of magma in volcanic conduits. From these observations it is possible to understand how the eruptions of the past occurred in order to better predict the "future" ones. This technique is used in numerous scientific fields: for example, it has been able to virtually unroll and read the inside of the papyri found in the famous Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, which survived the eruption of 79 AD. The INGV system is equipped with a microfocus source polychromatic X-ray scanner (from 40 to 150kV, up to 10W) and a CCD-type radiation detector (2k x 2k 16bit CCD X-ray camera) with high-resolution optics that allow rock samples to be scanned with a wide range of density and excellent quality and detail of the 3D images, which are reconstructed, visualized and analyzed quantitatively through dedicated software.
Gallery - The INGV ZEISS Xradia 410 Versa microtomography system