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Litmus Paper from Dye Lichen
Litmus is a blue dye from lichens that turns red in acid and back to blue in alkali. The lichen is ground with sodium carbonate and ammonia and stirred for about four weeks while it turns from red through purple to blue; alcohol then takes out the red orcein. Unsized paper soaked in the blue litmus and dried is litmus paper.
The picture: strips of litmus paper, blue at one end and turned red at the other.
Intermediate
About four weeks
Instructions
1
1
Grind the lichen
Grind the lichen
Grind dry dye lichen in a mortar with a solution of washing soda and household ammonia, then put it in a crock (our quantities: 100 g lichen, 20 g washing soda, 0.5 L ammonia solution).
Materials for this step:
Dye Lichen (Orchil-Producing)100 g
Washing Soda20 g
Household Ammonia Solution0.5 literTools needed:
Mortar and Pestle
Fermentation Crock
Balance Scale
Rubber Gloves
Chemical Splash Goggles2
2
Stir for four weeks
Stir for four weeks
Cover the crock and stir now and then. The colour goes from red to purple and finally blue in about four weeks.
Tools needed:
Fermentation Crock
Glass Stirring Rod3
3
Take out the orcein
Take out the orcein
Work the blue mass with alcohol and pour the alcohol off with the red orcein it dissolves, until it no longer runs red. The blue litmus stays.
Materials for this step:
Ethanol - Lab Grade, 95%0.3 literTools needed:
Glass BeakerGlass Stirring RodRubber GlovesChemical Splash Goggles4
4
Dye the paper
Dye the paper
Stir the litmus into water, let it settle and pour the clear blue off. Cut unsized filter paper into strips and soak them in it.
Materials for this step:
Water0.5 liter
Filter Paper10 sheetsTools needed:
Glass Beaker
Scissors5
5
Dry and store
Dry and store
Dry the strips on a rack away from acid or ammonia fumes, which would colour them, and keep them in a closed jar (our care).
Tools needed:
Drying Rack
Glass Jar6
6
What the colour change tells you
What the colour change tells you
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Materials
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Tools Required
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