Puttur students invent new type of ink

Puttur students invent new type of ink

Mangalore Today News Network

Puttur, Dec 4:  Bhargav C. S. and Pramod N. V., students of Std X at Ramakrishna High School, have discovered that ink can be produced using naturally available material, which is of no use to people. The newly invented ink has already gained recognition at the national level and will be entered into an international-level competition soon.

After having presented their research at the national-level science exhibition, the duo have been chosen to participate in the international science exhibition, which is scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, USA in May 2011.

The two boys have made ink using Alalekai (black myrobalan), Kadugeru (wild cashew), Kumkuma Kai (a variety of nut), and Shanka Pushpa (a blue flower that grows on creepers), all of which are commonly available in forests, farms, gardens, and thickets. They exhibited their research at the national-level science exhibition held in Worli, Maharashtra. They were one of the 8 teams out of 87 participating teams, which were chosen as the winners. They received laptops, citations, and gold medals as prizes and will soon fly to Los Angeles to present their research.

Powder Alalekai finely, mix it with water, and immerse a piece of iron into the solution for 8 days. Filter the solution and add glycerine to it in order to get black ink. Use Kumkuma Kai instead of Alalekai for brownish red ink and Shankha Pushpa for dark blue ink. The students plan to conduct some more experiments to enhance the value of their invention.