Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A non-destructive testing method, comprising:providing a source material, the source material comprising matter in a solid state;bombarding the source material with photons so that the source material emits positrons;placing the source material adjacent a specimen to be tested;detecting annihilation gamma rays emitted by the specimen; andmoving the source material away from the specimen before detecting annihilation gamma rays. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein placing the source material adjacent a specimen to be tested comprises placing the source material in contact with the specimen. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein placing the source material adjacent a specimen to be tested comprises conforming at least a portion of the source material to at least a portion of the specimen. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein bombarding the source material with photons comprises bombarding the source material with photons having energies in a range of about 9 MeV to about 21 MeV. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein positrons emitted by the source material have energies in a range of about 0.5 MeV to about 5 MeV.