Why do you need an x-ray 10 billion times brighter than the sun to read the dead sea scrolls?

Question

Read this news article from yesterday (12th sept).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/09/12/sciscroll112.xml

then read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Light_Source

Answer 1

They are not actually reading them, though it's theoretically possible to do it.
It's just a diagnostic procedure to evaluate the status of the scroll and determine if it's safe to open it so it can be read.

With a fine beam, you could find out what's at every point of every layer of the scroll by analyzing its reflection. With that information, is possible to create an image showing where there's ink and where there isn't. The image should be the text written over the scroll.
This requires detection of reflections at molecular level precision. I guess that's what they say it's going to be available in four years.

(This is a very simple explanation of a much more complex issue that's out of my field of expertise)

Answer 2

Because the parchment, which is actually well crafted animal skins, used to write the Dead Sea Scrolls have aged---by some 2,000 years; they're to say the least, highly fragile.

And it's fair to also assume that lightly etched first and or second DRAFTS by the writers themselves may also exist---and may provide further clues and facts not immediately shown on the texts. These drafts may well be hidden under the fragile inks still visible on the scrolls, but NOT visible to the naked or magnified eye.

Mega X-ray machines have the ability to see through the ink and help scientists explore what may well be hidden under the ink of the Scrolls; hopefully disclosing the actual location of the other Scrolls yet to be discovered.