When cleaning up, Ramsey exposed the paper to UV light to dry it and make it easier to throw away. On a whim, she checked to see if the coating, which was enhanced with nanoparticles, made the paper impervious to pencils or ink.
"For a minute, I was really disappointed. I could write on it all over the place," she said. "Then something clicked."
It turned out that the coating, in combination with the makeshift apparatus, made the paper waterproof without making it waxy, brittle or changing its other characteristics. The original piece of paper has been submerged in water since June 6. It hasn't dissolved and Ramsey's original writing is still on it. She once even took it out of the water, wrote on it some more, and submerged it again.
http://news.com.com/Making+paper+waterproof--and+writable/2100-7337_3-5823337.html?tag=st.pop
"For a minute, I was really disappointed. I could write on it all over the place," she said. "Then something clicked."
It turned out that the coating, in combination with the makeshift apparatus, made the paper waterproof without making it waxy, brittle or changing its other characteristics. The original piece of paper has been submerged in water since June 6. It hasn't dissolved and Ramsey's original writing is still on it. She once even took it out of the water, wrote on it some more, and submerged it again.
http://news.com.com/Making+paper+waterproof--and+writable/2100-7337_3-5823337.html?tag=st.pop