Time machine: The Thermopolis specimen of Archaeopteryx, recently X-rayed at a Stanford University particle accelerator to reveal previously unseen details of soft tissues.
Credit: Stephan Schulz
The method can also be used to illuminate writing on ancient parchments.
In another study at the Stanford facility, the technique was used to reveal the ink of hidden text beneath paint on a mediaeval copy of a treatise by Ancient Greek mathematician, Archimedes.
Earlier this year, parts of an obscured score by the Italian composer Luigi Cherubini (1760 to 1842) were discovered after the document was scanned. Following the X-ray, "the researcher was able to look right through the ink and read the score," said Mary Miller, a Stanford preservation librarian. "I think he was thrilled."
"The synchrotron is like a time machine," added Francesca Casadio, a chemist at the Art Institute of Chicago, who was also present at the AAAS meeting.
Editorial Anomalies
Spelling this time. Check 'medieval'.
Cheers, Would be Editor
@ Would be Editor
1. Check a dictionary
2. Check which country Cosmos is published in
3. Go 'oops!'