(Murphy, 2011,p.2). Another example where oxidization is seen changing the color of a substance is the Statue of Liberty in New York. The Statue of Liberty was originally Copper but after oxidizing it changed to a swampy green. One more type of invisible ink used is chemically activated ink. For this method two chemical substances that are colorless are needed. Next you mix the chemicals together the allow the chemical reaction to occur creating an ink now visible. An example of this type of invisible ink is using vinegar combined with cabbage water(Invisible, 2010, p.2). In conclusion Invisible ink is used in television to create magical
CHEMISTRY IN SPECIAL EFFECTS
illusions and intrigue the audience. There are also two types of invisible ink used which are chemically induced and heat induced. Heat induced ink uses lemon juice on a writable surface and being heated up to create to invisible ink, while chemically induced needs one chemical on the writable surface and another chemical to create the reaction that allows the ink to be visible. One more frequently used special affect that contains chemistry is glow or tonic water. Glow water is mostly used in alien movies such as invasion by warner bros. It can also be used to drink, this form can also be called tonic water. Glow water, much like invisible ink, can be used to scare or even intrigue the audience. The chemicals in glow water are the same seen in glow sticks, lava lamps, and neon store signs. The chemicals used are called fluorescent. Fluorescents occurs in liquid, solid, and gas forms and is created by the absorption of photons in single group sate. The way the fluorescents are used in tonic water is the water has quinine dissolved in it. Quinine basically is made from tree bark, and was originally used to treat Malaria across the world. As a result of the quinine being in the tonic water an ultraviolet black light can make the water be fluorescent, usually becoming a bright blue. The way this works is the water absorbs light energy which makes the chemicals in the water exited therefore creating fluorescent color (Buddies, 2015, p.1). The history of glow water goes all the way back with bioluminescence being used by living organism as an evolutionary trait to survive. The bioluminescence involved Luciferin along with the enzyme Luciferase with proteins such as Aequorin to act as a catalyst. Bioluminescence was first recognized by Aristotle, a very well known philosopher, who noticed that a log would glow when it would be damp. The other ingredient in Glow water is fluorescences which, discussed early, was used to treat malaria throughout the world and has
CHEMISTRY IN SPECIAL EFFECTS
transformed through history to creating a tonic water that is drinkable. Overall tonic water can be used to intrigue the audience using the fluorescence and glow. Glow water's bright color is created when the Qunine absorbed in the water gets light energy and gets excited which creates a bright blue color that can be seen under an ultra violet black light. The last type of special affect that involves chemistry to be created is Dry ice. Dry ice is a frozen carbon dioxide which goes from a solid directly to a gas, which is called sublimation and is extremely rare. Dry ice is can be used as a smoke maker for filmmaking or even at concerts to open the act. Dry ice first came about in 1835 when Charles Thilorier was testing liquid carbon dioxide in a metal canister. Charles noticed that after the carbon dioxide evaporated there was a block of ice leftover which was dry ice and from there it has been not only been used in science but also film. Dry ice is made when solid carbon dioxide with Bromothymol added into it makes a greenish blue color. Then the dry ice is added which creates a carbonic acid. The molecular structure then changes so that the electron charges aren't the same which creates a different color. The common foggy feature of dry ice is created because the dry ice is cold enough to cause the water vapor in the air around it to condense to very small drops forming a foggy cloud. Dry ice is usually around -78 degrees Celsius which can causes frostbite but the cloud around the dry ice is at room temperature which is because the formation of the cloud is and exothermic one which means that the heat and energy is leaving the fog causing it to be at normal room temperature(Dry, p.1). Dry ice is not only used in film, it is often used in medicine as well. Medical treatments such as wart removal or skin cancer use liquid nitrogen, which is another form of dry ice. Dry ice or solidified carbon dioxide is used to remove warts by placing a liquid
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version of it into a spray gun and spraying the affected area to remove the wart.
Dry ice can also be used to help patients who have skin cancer by finding and spraying the area affected with cancer, which could be any irregularly shaped mole or bump. Moreover, dry ice can be used to create fog for film or performances. Dry ice is created by adding Bromothymol to the solidified carbon dioxide to create the color. Next the carbonic acid that is created results in the electrons changing making the dry ice transform into a gas. Finally the infamous cloud that dry ice commonly known for is made due to the water vapor around the dry ice turning into very small pellets creating and exothermic gaseous
cloud. Overall there are a lot of different techniques used in special affects that involve chemistry such as tonic water, dry ice, fake blood, explosions, and invisible ink. Tonic or glow water uses chemistry with the Qunine that receives light energy and gets excited, when this happens a bright fluorescent blue can be seen under an ultra violet black light. Dry ice also uses chemistry in its mechanics when Bromothymol is added to the solidified carbon dioxide which makes a greenish color. Next the electrons change in the molecular structure of the carbon dioxide and it becomes more of a gas. Lastly the fog around the dry ice is created by the air turning into water vapor due to the cool air forcing condensation. The common fake blood used in horror film also used chemistry in it first with the making of the fake blood with water, color dye, and corn syrup to add density. Moreover, using potassium thiocyanate to put on area that will be bleeding and the ferric chloride will be applied on the area that will cause the bleeding. When these two chemicals combine along with the already made fake blood will create a realistic blood reaction. Explosions are another common aspect in modern filmmaking that CHEMISTRY IN SPECIAL EFFECTS
include chemistry also. The chemistry involved is mostly with car explosions that occur due to breach in the vessel causing the liquid inside to heat up and expand very quickly resulting in a motor combustion. Fireworks also include chemistry with gun powder and different metals for the various colors. Finally invisible ink, usually used in magical illusions, is almost all chemistry. Most invisible ink uses lemon juice to write with and after that is heated up it becomes visible. Another more chemical method uses two colorless chemicals such vinegar and cabbage water. After these two combine it creates a darker more visible writing. In conclusion there are many different techniques in modern film that have been developed throughout history to contain different aspects of chemistry.
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References
Buddies, S. (2015, October 2015). Fake Blood Made Scientific. Retrieved from https:// www.scientificamerican.com/article/fake-blood-made-scientific/
Buddies, S. (2014, August 14) Glow in the dark water. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/shining-science-explore-glow-in-the-dark
Dry Ice (2015, November 27) dry ice in chemistry. retrieved from http://www.emsb.qc.ca/laurenhill/science/dryice.html
Explosions. (2012, October 13) Explosions in Chemistry. Retrieved from http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Di-Fa/Explosions.html
Fake Blood. (2013, June 25) Chemistry in Fake Blood. Retrieved by http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/10/29/blood/
Glow Water. (2014, July 3) Chemistry involved in glow water. Retrieved from https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/blog/2012/07/03/the-dangers-of-glow-sticks- always-follow-safe-science-warnings-and-precautions
Lutz, D. (2009, December) Hollywood Special Effects. Retrieved from https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/ articlesbytopic/thermochemistry/chemmatters-dec2009-hollywood.pdf
Helmenstine, A. (2016, July 11) Invisible Ink. Retrieved from http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/invisibleink2.htm
Murphy, L. (2011, November 3) Invisible Ink Reveals Cool Chemistry. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-invisible-ink/
What is Dry Ice? (2012, April 22) How Dry Ice Works. Retrieved from http://humantouchofchemistry.com/what-is-dry-ice.htm