Light bulbs are known to generate heat enough to burn human skin. LEDs are more energy efficient. I wanted to use thermochromics ink to compare energy efficiency of a string of LED lights and an LED bulb.
My silk pattern is very basic, two triangles in a row. Two rows inverted and overlapped look similar to strands of DNA in the middle of being replicated. My intention was to place the string of LEDs at the intersection of the two strands to make the two strands appear physically separated from each other.
The silk screen preparation was quite simple but the print turned out sloppy. I made multiple copies of the print, had to wash the screen midway and dry it before I could use it again. This is how it looked on thick A4 paper.
I traced the border of the pattern to hide the messy edges and used a pencil tip to puncture the paper at designated places so that I could insert LEDs into them.
One sheet had LEDs all over it and the other one had LEDs inserted right into the design tracing the paint. I checked the sheets after 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour and five hours. No change was observed in wither sheet after 15 minutes, after thirty minutes the sheet with LEDs inserted into the design had small circles around the LEDs where the dye was bleached.
After five hours the pattern was a lighter shade of gray. Once the pattern was exposed to heat from both LED string and a bulb the color was significantly bleached.
DIY Science Fall 2015 