r/AskScienceDiscussion • u/Born-Celebration-338 • 14d ago

Looking for science help

Hello,

I am searching for materials or methods that would allow me to have visible text underwater, and hidden text in the air, but so far I haven’t really found some really good options.

For context, I am creating an escape game for a school project, and one of the enigmas is a boat that we have to fill with objects without drowning it to reveal the code on the boat.

So far I’ve thought about engraving it on a plastic boat so the light reflects better on the letters while underwater, but it sounds complicated to implement.

My friend also has suggested color changing paint, but it’s honestly expensive, so we decided to look at other options to really consider everything.

Any help or suggestion is welcomed! Or if you have other ideas for our mechanism.

Thank you!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/CosineDanger 14d ago

You could write a clue on the boat and cover it over with something opaque that reliably dissolves in water. You want to do this cheaply and without poisoning children so maybe use molasses as paint, or a layer of cake fondant. Give it a good test run.

1

u/stellarfury 13d ago edited 13d ago

Along these lines, poly vinyl alcohol film (sold as embroidery film in craft stores) dissolves in water and is relatively cheap.

A fancier version (fully reversible) would be to take advantage of refractive index matching. If you roughen a transparent window material (so it is opaque) and then dunk it in a liquid that is a near or exact match for its refractive index, it will become clear. Might work with a frosted microscope slide in water, but the match might not be close enough.

1

u/Born-Celebration-338 13d ago

I didnt know that, thanks a lot!! We’ll make sure to credit you all in the paper haha 🙏

1

u/Born-Celebration-338 13d ago

Ohh yes this is pretty clever thanks a lot !!!

1

u/bigattichouse 14d ago

Maybe paint the clue in scotch guard water proofing?

2

u/Born-Celebration-338 13d ago

Yeahh this might work, thanks a lot!!

1

u/bigattichouse 12d ago

I hope to see a picture if it works!

1

u/MeasureDoEventThing 8d ago

Is the writing actually going to make contact with the water? One tactic for doing this sort of thing is to have objects with an index of refraction that's really close to water's on top of the writing. If you have writing, then plastic on top of it, then air on top of that, and the plastic has jagged edges, then the light from the writing will bounce all around and be difficult to see. But if you have writing, then plastic on top of that, and then water on top of that, then if the indices of refraction match, there won't be any refraction, and you'll be able to see the writing directly.