Virtual reading of a large ancient handwritten science book

AUTHORS: Albertin F, Patera A, Jerjen I, Hartmann S, Peccenini E, Kaplan F, Stampanoni M, Kaufmann R, Margaritondo G

Microchemical Journal, 125: 185-189, March 2016

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ABSTRACT

We present a fundamental development step of a new technique to read and digitize ancient handwritten documents. Chemical analysis by x-ray fluorescence and x-ray tomography enabled us to decipher words and drawings from inside a closed, 200-pages 18^th century handwritten book. The ink chemistry is essential: tomographic reading is feasible thanks to the iron present in ancient inks (iron gall) over one millennium—whereas carbon or organic inks do not provide sufficient x-ray contrast. The results presented are a key progress towards the ultimate goal of the technique: non-invasive reading of fragile and/or unopenable documents.

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Module: PC