The purpose of using invisible ink can be as simple as a lover’s note being passed in class to as complex as sending out spy messages from another country. There have been different types of inks used down the ages and science experiments have produced new substances that can be used as invisible ink as well.

Depending on the type of invisible ink that has been used there can be different methods of making the writing on the paper visible. For the simpler inks such as the juice of lemon or milk it is easy to reveal the secret writing. All you have to do is heat up the paper and the writing on the page pops right up. Of course you need to make sure that you secure the heat source properly or you may just end up burning the sheet of paper on which your message is written.

For the more complex inks, which can be fluorescent in nature, you will need to have a source of ultra violet light to see what the message is all about. Portable lights can be carried on your person so that you can decode and decipher the message written with fluorescent ink. These are more durable inks as they can’t be washed away very easily. Science projects to find more invisible ink possibilities are always in progress. Maybe you will discover the next one.

Invisible ink is of many different types. From juice of citrus fruits, to milk and of course the kind that can be made from cornstarch. There are a number of choices for your invisible ink. Unfortunately once the iodine solution has been dabbed on to the paper the invisible ink becomes visible and can be read quite easily.

There is however one kind of invisible ink which remains hidden even after you have read it.  That clear fluid you see may be more sinister than it appears. It could be fluorescent invisible ink that you could use to write on any surface. The only way it will be read if some used an ultra violent light to show it. When the light is switched off no one is the wiser about the secret message given by the ink.

Did you know that most bodily fluids are fluorescent by nature? It has been proved by science that blood semen, saliva, vaginal fluids are all naturally fluorescent. Thant means that a crime scene investigator can narrow down his scope of investigation by merely shining an ultra violet light on the area to see where the human bodily fluids prevail. This technique is usually seen in television shows as the investigator flashes a hand held portable ultra violet light around the body to see where all the blood has been washed up.

We all have secrets that we want to keep from the child in school to the corporate boss, there’s always something that we don’t want the wrong eyes to see. Invisible ink is a simple way to keep a secret, unfortunately it is not a very secure one. After all the coding of a message is a more secure manner to keep a secret. If you don’t have the key you don’t know the secret.

That is where scientists have worked for years on science projects that help keep data safe from the enemy. With the advance of technology there have been many gadgets that have been used to encode your secrets. The unfortunate thing is that just as soon as you have a new method of keeping secrets the enemy has found a new one to decode them. It is a constant ongoing struggle to keep data safe.

With the advent of the internet data has become more accessible than before. You could merely with a click of a mouse find out everything from all the information you like about a person who interests you to the lyrics of a particularly appealing song that you like to hear. In such an open society too there are some secrets that must be kept. That is why year after year millions are spent on science projects that deal with securing the data.

If you are fascinated by the concept of writing with invisible ink it could lead to an interesting science project. After all if you can find the right combination of chemicals you could use anything for making invisible ink. The natural invisible ink that is available freely in most of our homes is the juice of citrus fruits such as lemon and orange.

You can just squeeze the juice and begin writing. Reading what you have written is also simple. Just warm up the paper with an electrical iron slightly and the words will jump out of the page. Its kid stuff really. Now if you are looking for something a bit more complicated which your kid brother will not be able to read by merely heating up the paper, read on.

Here’s what you need to make your own invisible ink. Take 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 4 teaspoons of water and mix them in a small pan. Heat the mixture for a few minutes and stir constantly. Dip a toothpick in the mixture and write out your letter on paper. Let it dry.

Now to read the message you need to make a solution of 1 teaspoon of iodine in 10 teaspoons of water. Use a small sponge to dab the solution on to the secret letter. The writing will appear purple. Just make sure that you don’t use too much of the solution or you may just wipe out the message altogether. Have fun with the science project making many secret messages.

The thrill of a good mystery is always enhanced by a letter written in invisible ink. The good news is that not all invisible ink is as expensive as other supplies for a secret agent are. In fact this science project involves making and using invisible ink to write you friend a letter that everyone else will think is a blank page.

So if you want to share your secrets with that one special friend here’s what you need to do. Get hold of a lemon from the fruit basket . Now squeeze out the juice in a bowl and get ready to write your letter. Milk is also a good substitute for invisible ink on plain white paper. Once you have finished writing your letter you need to let the paper dry so that what you have written does not get smudged.

Now fold it up and deliver it to your friend. Of course you will need to tell your friend just how to read the letter too. That’s also quite simple. The trick is to heat up the paper so that the invisible writing shows up. You can use the heat from a radiator to do so. Just make sure that if you use any other source of heat you are careful not to burn up the paper with the secret message. You can make a science project out of discovering what other material can make good invisible ink.