X-Ray Beams reveals Archimedes' hidden writings

[August 8th, 2006]

800 Year old writings by famous greek mathematician Archimedes is revealed with X-Ray beams by researchers at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center, San Francisco.

Researchers at Standford Universities Linear Accelerator Center are using X-ray beams to decipher the 800 year old manuscript written over Goatskin Porchment. Reading reveals the writings of Ancient Greek Mathematician Archimedes famous Greek Mathematician of 217 BC

Focussing X-Rays on the porchment are causing little iron particles left in the ink to glow without harming the porchment and qualify the manuscript for reading by experts.

"We are gaining new insights into one of the founding fathers of western science," said William Noel, curator of manuscripts at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, which organized the effort. "It is the most difficult imaging challenge on any medieval document because the book is in such terrible condition."

Revealing Archimedes' writings was ahuge challenge to reasearchers team at standford. In the tenth century original text was transcribed by a anonymous scribe. Three centuries after that monk in Jerusalem called Johannes Myronas recycled the manuscript to create a palimpsest.

Palimpsesting involves scraping away the original text so the parchments can be used again. To create a book, the monk cut the pages in half and turned them sideways. In the early 20th century, forgers tried to boost the manuscript's value by painting religious imagery on some of the pages.

In 1998, an anonymous private collector paid $2 million for the manuscript at an auction, then loaned it to the Walter Arts Museum for safekeeping and study.

Over the past eight years, researchers have used ultraviolet and infrared filters, as well as digital cameras and processing techniques, to reveal most of the buried text, but some pages were still unreadable.

"It's like receiving a fax from the 3rd Century BC," said Mr Noel. "It's the most sensational feeling."