Invisibility, invisibility, we all want invisibility (or for it to go pink under UV light)

 So my plan has been to make Sculptures that are invisible until placed under strong light. The plan is to use a acrylic clear (glass) resin and cast an object or shape using said resin. Then place this (primary cast) inside a block or cylinder of more  acrylic clear (glass) resin.

Sounds great! Really simple! Well not really. When i spoke to Mike Nix about the idea a couple of months ago he pretty much told me that: The problem is that if i cast an object then place it inside more resin, the liquid resin in cylinder or will fill the holes and scratches that make up the surface of the primary cast. The Primary cast will no longer be visible in the cylinder or cube.

So the solution is to change the refractive index one of the resins by dissolving metals into the resin. Thus making it denser, giving it a higher refractive index and slowing the speed that the light shines thorough it. So our plan for the first day was to make some tests (i made some earlier, the night before)

There are two types of clear resin that i can use, both got from MB Fiberglass in Belfast. SO i had to do all tests the same for both. I poured out one load and left it cure, to the other i had added water, to the last i had added xylem. Water did not work at all, the other two set, but he one with the paint thiner took much longer to set. Having looked at these results mike said that we need to do some tests to see what solvents might work with these resins (chemically very similar so what works for one should work for the other)

However mike was also trying to make a work using photochromic dyes. Clear until exposed to UV light, then it turns pink. Then goes clear again once its out of the light We thought at this point that our plan to change the refractive indexes might not work so we were playing with backups. The idea of adding photochromic dyes into the primary resin was one idea we floated. And, although it was quite a way away from what we were planning to do originally  i quite liked it as a back up.

Before i left for the day i shattered one of the pure cast and placed shards into cups with each type f resign. This was to see test if their was a existing difference in refractive index or in the surface would show up once emerged. We were not hopeful. We also put photochromic dye in white spirit into the resin to see what would happen. Then home for tea and the results of these tests in the morning.