ENJOYMENT IN WRITING
August 9, 2022
What You Write Floats on Water? The Curious Whiteboard Marker
How is it possible to erase text on a whiteboard?
Whiteboards are useful because you can write on them and erase what you've written repeatedly. Have you ever used one before at school or at work?
They are very convenient, as you can cleanly erase what you've written in colorful ink with an eraser.
So how can we so easily erase what we've written with whiteboard markers?
The secret lies in the ink used in the markers.
Whiteboard marker ink is made up of four components: 1) pigment for color, 2) resin that binds the pigment to form a film, 3) a release agent that causes the ink to “float” on the board, and 4) a solvent to combine all the other components into a liquid.
The ink inside the marker is a liquid made up of components 1 to 3 dissolved in the solvent. When writing on a whiteboard, the solvent evaporates upon contact with air and the pigment is bound together by the resin. This creates an ink film. The release agent then creates a layer between the board and the ink, and the ink “floats” above the surface of the board, making it easy to remove.
That is why the film-like ink can be erased with an eraser.
So text written with this ink floats on water?!
What does it mean that the ink becomes like a film? Let’s use water for an experiment.
If you write something with a whiteboard marker on a smooth, non-absorbent surface and slowly submerge it in water from one edge, water seeps in between the writing and the surface, causing the writing to peel off cleanly. If you look closely at the ink floating on the water, you can see that it has formed a thin film.
Try it at home!
You can try this floating-ink experiment at home using everyday household items.
Look for smooth, non-absorbent surfaces and give it a try.
Note that this will not work on paper, cloth, or other materials that absorb the ink, or on rough or uneven surfaces.
In this experiment, we tried aluminum foil, a plastic spoon, and a magnetic sheet. It was a lot of fun to make cute illustrations of flying birds, balloons, and fish float!
Play around with many floating sea creatures
If you use a large ceramic or glass dish, you can make many drawings float at once. You can get everyone in your family to draw their favorite words or pictures! In this video, we drew many sea creatures. You can see how the ink peels away gradually from the areas that touch the water and then gently floats inside the bowl.
The larger the word or drawing, the harder it is to make it float. It is best to make it about the size of a ¥10 coin.
Wait until the ink has fully dried before slowly pouring in the water.
Whiteboard marker ink is packed with technology that allows you to write and erase again and again. The Board Master markers used in the video come in a wide variety of colors and tip sizes, and their cartridge system allows you to replace the ink and use them for a long time. Use them for studying, in business settings, for fun, and in all kinds of situations.
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