Invisible ink becomes a reality

Invisible ink is set to transcend borders of fiction and become a reality with a team of scientists developing ink that vanishes in just 24 hours.

London, Oct 5 : Invisible ink is set to transcend borders of fiction and become a reality with a team of scientists developing ink that vanishes in just 24 hours.

The scientists claim that when the ink is used on a reusable paper, the text appears in shade of dark purple.

However, just after eight hours, there is just a shadow of the text left and within a day it is completely erased.

The blank page can be used again, reducing the huge number of pages put in the recycling bin soon after being printed each year, reports Times Online.

Apparently, the disappearing ink is not actually ink, but a brief discolourment of photo-sensitive molecules called phtochromes.

The paper is covered with photochromes that change colour when they come in contact with light.

When the printing is over, the molecules begin responding to the heat in the surrounding air and eventually return to their natural state.

As long as the paper is not crinkled, it can be used up to 30 times.

The ink can also be incorporated in an existing printer.

But, the technology demonstrated by Xerox in Grenoble, France, will not be commercially obtainable for many years.

ANI