Photodegradation of Colored Paper

Overview

Objectives/Goals Which light source will cause dyes to fade the most? This information can be used to determine how to display and preserve important documents, historic artifacts, priceless art, and photos. Methods/Materials Seven sheets of paper, each with four smaller squares of colored construction paper, were scanned using a computer and scanner. Next, six sheets were exposed for 24 hours to different light sources (incandescent bulb, sunlight, fluorescent tube, LEDs, infrared bulb, and an ultraviolet blacklight). The seventh sheet was not exposed to light. The sheets were scanned again. Two computer programs were used to measure the red, green, and blue (RGB) values of four random spots on each colored square. The differences between RGB values before and after exposure were used to determine which light sources cause the most and least fading. Results Sunlight caused the most fading. It had more fading than all other light sources put together. LEDs and fluorescent tubes caused the least fading. Conclusions/Discussion If you want to keep precious objects from fading, store them in a place without light. If lights must be used to display them, use LEDs or fluorescent lights. Keep them away from sunlight.

Awards (1)

• Honorable Mention

Competition history

• CSEF 2007 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1227

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Materials Science and Engineering projects
• CSEF Materials Science and Engineering projects
• Every CSEF 2007 project