2017/11/03

Make Your Secret Invisible

BY:Kraig
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We use printers at our office to print out thousands of sheets of paper. The paper might have technical data, confidential information, or your little secrets. Now, you can use a new type of invisible ink to print every word that you do not want to reveal to others.

 

Photo Credit: Bettmann/Getty

The creators, Liang Li at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and his colleagues, accidentally made a lead compound that human eyes could not see it while synthesizing a sort of glowing nanomaterial. For example, when texts are being printed with the lead compound ink, they will become invisible. If you would like to make them appear, you need to apply with a particular kind of salt. “This invisible ink can be used to record and protect confidential information by printing process,” Li says.

Unlike the other kind of invisible ink made of lemon juice, this compound is harder to be detected by projecting a flash light onto it. This means people can have more printed confidential information on paper. Not only that, its anti-counterfeiting characteristic can be applied in national currency, which builds a higher protective wall against fake money.

However, there are downsides. Lead is a toxic and harmful material. Although it can make your texts invisible, it also creates a poison letter at the same time. The research team is figuring out a new solution to swapping out the lead for tin, which is much lesser toxic. The compound will be a good way to send a secret only if it cannot harm the recipients.

 

New Reference: https://www.newscientist.com/article/secure-secret-messages-printable-invisible-ink/

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