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I never expect precision from journalists. So, I can accept that there might be occasional spots on the reverse (outside) of the cloth -- perhaps from contact in ancient times -- even by the followers who first applied the shroud.

As to your,

"Another strange property, if we are looking at a radiation modality, is that the resolution of the image implies that whatever caused the image, radiated as if it came from a vertically 90º collimated radiation from every point on a plane sliced horizontally through the body, exhibiting almost zero deflection to (+/-1º) accuracy from vertical in Z axis in both the positive and negative directions."

It appears to me that interpretation requires that the shroud be held taut -- in a flat plane.

In my interpretation,the cloth is draped roughly to the contours ("high points") of the body, and that the body (intensely and uniformly radiant) emitted energy normal to every point on its 3-D contoured surface. The 3-D image is basically due to the inverse square radiation intensity law. That would explain a purely "scorched" negative image in the sizing.

IF there was an ablation/deposition component, its 3-d effect might be enhanced similarly. We found that the mean-free-path energy through air) of ablated particles/molecules fell off with a factor approaching the cube of the distance. (Absolute fidelity of pattern transfer required intimate contact between donor and [thermoplastic] acceptor surfaces.) With significant separation, the particles had lost sufficient energy to bond to/with the receptor surface...

Also, of course, we weren't depositing on soapwort sizing, either ... '-)

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As an (advanced avocational) archæologist, I tend to "'gedanken'-analyze" the shroud as I would any incredibly ancient and fragile artifact.

As a physical chemist, I can't help but see parallels between my photo-ablation imaging work and the shroud image formation.

As a Christian, I can't help but be gratified by what might be physical evidence of THE one most significant, energetic transformation / resurrection event in the history of humankind!

As an "unlimited-time creationist", I rejoice in the majesty of all of our Creator's handiwork. I "revere" no created object.

As a seventeenth-letter-level skeptic, the "shroud image" subject is near the top of "Questions to ask when I get there"... :-)

TXnMA

It appears to me that interpretation requires that the shroud be held taut -- in a flat plane.

The problem with the taut shroud in a flat plane, is that it wasn’t because there is some distortion in the image due to draping. It was semi-flat over the body in the frontal image so must have been somewhat supported by something. But also had to have had direct contact with the corpus including chest, arms, face, hair, legs, hands, etc., to allow for blood stain transfer. The 90º collimation is known because of the in-depth imaging where cloth contact was not possible, yet resolution is still distinct enough to obviate any deflection from the vertical.

We found that the mean-free-path energy through air) of ablated particles/molecules fell off with a factor approaching the cube of the distance. (Absolute fidelity of pattern transfer required intimate contact between donor and [thermoplastic] acceptor surfaces.) With significant separation, the particles had lost sufficient energy to bond to/with the receptor surface...

The cube diminution with distance works when you have a radiation from a central point in a spherical expansion, i.e. the amount of point energy is expanding to fill the volume of the sphere. It doesn’t work in a laser like light where there is no expansion of the coherent beam’s focus, i.e., all the available energy fills only the area of the column, not a spherical volume. Being parallel almost to infinity, the energy the of photons in a laser beam should remain the same in cross section along the entire length of the beam, so long as that laser’s beam diameter does not expand and it doesn’t encounter any absorption matter. So, TXnMA, is there a half-life/time period or distance, of whatever energy/radiation that is moving from this source in a collimated beam that, for all extents and purposes could be the equivalent of a laser/maser-like beam, attenuating as the cube of distance as if it were acting like a spherical radiation from a point source?

Some have postulated that the shroud image was created by a point source of energy within the body. This cannot work due to the angles from a point source just don’t work with the image we have before us. The spherical geometry doesn’t work out from any conceivable point source as projected outward to the points on the cloth. Anyone who has done any drawing with perspective would instantly see the problems of extending perspective with a vanishing point within the body. The distortion of the image on the cloth would be radical and that is just not there. However, it does work for a flat plane source in the body with the 90º collimated energy source equally released from every point on that plane.

I think of the plane I suggest in this way. Visualize a large flat LED video screen. Only this one has laser LEDs that have no ability to be seen except when viewed exactly 90º perpendicular to the plane of the screen. When looked at with one eye, only one pixel can be seen at a time with this screen. None of its neighbor pixels will spill over onto the area covered by it. Thus, if it were imprinting a wall in front of the screen, an exact copy in reverse of the display would be projected there of the exact size of the screen with no distortion from overlapping pixels from other laser LED spillage blurring the image. Now, point the lasers both directions, forward and backwards.