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| Redacted , 18th-century style (AP photo via SJMN) |
216 years ago critics complained to composer
Luigi Cherubini that his opera,
Médée, was too long, so he used charcoal to black out its coda. To operators of the Stanford Linear Accelerator, which is used to divine the mysteries of the universe,
unmasking Cherubini's secret aria was child's play. The SLAC scientists fired X-rays at the blacked-out pages, causing the metallic ink of the hidden notes to fluoresce.
Technology was used to reveal information long thought lost. It did not violate anyone's privacy or debunk a story that someone holds dear. Everyone seems to praise the result. That's refreshing.
© 2013 Stephen Yuen
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