Boil a couple of beetroots then either juice them using a juicer or mash then up and strain through muslin or a fine sieve ( if using a sieve you may have to strain more than once to get any fibres out). There is more control over the chemicals if paintbrushes, etc. are used instead of spray bottles. Results: Place the 8 Weight on the left of the scales, then the 3 Weight on the right of the scales. Then, put the 5 Cup on the right of the scales and use the Red Jar to fill it. That’s how you can excite people,” said Bang Bang. “It’s almost a Trojan horse into that new goal of how do we bridge the gap between tattoo and technology.”

A variety of suitable messages could be used such as ‘Welcome’ or ‘The end’, as appropriate. Alternatively an equation could be written up so that the reactants are revealed by the first spray, the products with the second spray, and the balancing numbers for the third. When developed the message should be visible and readable so students should be able to inform others of the message. The message is given to another group who develops the message and reports to the group on what the message said. Once again, reset the scales, then place the 7 Cup on the right of the scales and the 3 Cup on the left. Next, put the 4 Cup on the left and fill it from the Light Green Jar. Now, this is where your patience is needed! Repeat steps 1-4 for about an hour, until you have a wealth of sooty goodness in the bowl. If the spoon begins to get too hot to handle, either have a break to let it cool or put on a glove.

Teacher and Technician Sheet

All ages can take part in this activity but at different levels since the aim is to gain some understanding of the thinking of the scientist and artist with regard to the properties of materials. It links with: Wear eye protection throughout and use protective gloves.To avoid the risk of breathing in the fine sprays of liquid, especiallylead(II) nitrate which is harmful by inhalation and a category 1 teratogen, the room should be well ventilated or the experiment could be carried out using a fume cupboard. Dilute laundry detergent (the bluing agent glows) or 1 M sodium carbonate hydrated (Lead (II) nitrate is TOXIC at => 0.0 M and HARMFUL in solutions less than this.)

Bruns is also excited about what Magic Ink could mean for cancer patients going through radiation treatment. The demonstration lasts about three minutes, but more than this if discussion or repeats are involved. Equipment Apparatus The hotplate can be used on a low heat without the white tile, but it will have to be supervised as the paper could burn. It is safer to use a white tile on the hotplate to place the paper onto. It takes about 20–30 seconds on average on a low to medium heat setting for the message to appear. This means that a class practical could be carried out using a hotplate without congestion.

Reset the scales again, then place the 5 and 2 Cups on the right of the scales and the 7 Cup on the left and fill it with the Pink Jar. For each of the solids, dissolve 5 g in 100 cm 3of deionised/distilled water. The lead nitrate solution should be labelledTOXIC. These are best used with secondary students and most could be used comfortably with lower secondary students. Many of them work as pH indicators, so paint or spray a suspected message with a base (eg sodium carbonate solution) or an acid (e.g. lemon juice). Some of these inks will also reveal their message when heated (e.g. vinegar). The substances in milk weaken the paper and may be more susceptible to heat than the paper, so although the message dries clear, the paper weakens and darkens where the milk was applied. Equipment: Some of the reactions are worth discussing with the audience. Even fairly young students will know that phenolphthalein turns red in the presence of alkali, and that the pink writing could be hidden again using a dilute acid as a spray.