3rd Saun, 720
Location: Scalvoris University
The first thing we are going to do totrial is learn how to make litmus paper. Litmus paper can be used in order to figure out if liquids are acidic or basic."
The professor stopped speaking and frowned.
"I think I might have told you this before. Have I?"
Ari'sora and the other students nodded. Professor Freid cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing.
"Yes...well...that's what it does. You use it by dipping the paper in the substance that you are trying to test, and it will change color depending on whether it is acidic or basic. If it is an acid, it will turn red, and if it is a base, it will turn blue. Finally, if the litmus paper does not change color, the substance you are testing is neutral. Litmus paper is used often in chemistry, but it can be used in alchemy as well. It is also fairly simple to make. You will find copies of the recipe on how to make it on my desk, and the supplies you will need to make it are on the table in the back of the room. Please begin."
Ari'sora was among the first to approach the professor's desk, and get a copy of the recipe that would tell her how to make the litmus paper she needed to make. Before she headed to the back of the room to get the supplies she would need, she took a few trills to read through the recipe so she would know what, exactly, she needed to get.
The recipe called for blotting paper that had been cut into strips, two cups of chopped red cabbage, some lemon juice, some vinegar, and some soap. It was specified that the last three ingredients would be used to test the litmus paper they made. Once Ari'sora knew what she needed to get, she moved quickly to get everything that she needed. Then it was time to get to work.
The first step was to boil the red cabbage until the water it was boiling in was a reddish purple color from the cabbage. Once that had been done, the recipe called for her to strain the red cabbage from the solution. In order to save time, Ari'sora quickly set a pot of water on one of the stoves in the classroom so it would begin to boil. Then she chopped up her cabbage, and added it to the pot. By then, the water was boiling, so it was simply a matter of waiting until the water turned the right color. While she was waiting, she cut her blotting paper into strips. As she did so, she realized that she didn't know what blotting paper was, or why it was any different that normal paper...if it was. So she raised her hand, and waited for the professor to call on her.
"The recipe calls for blotting paper. What is that, exactly. Is it any different than normal paper?" she asked once she had been acknowledged.
"Blotting paper is a highly absorbent type of paper or other material. Rather than being made out of wood like normal paper is, it is made out of ingredients such as rice, cotton, and even flax seed. It is used to absorb an excess of liquid substances such as ink or oil from the surface of writing paper or other objects. And for our purposes, it is used to make litmus paper. Are there any more questions?"
The professor sounded bored, and Ari'sora was worried that she had annoyed him by asking him about the blotting paper, so she quickly shook her head, and got back to work. By the time she had finished cutting her blotting paper into strips, the water was a nice reddish purple color, so she strained the cabbage out of it. The next step called for her to put her blotting paper strips into the solution and leave them there to soak. It didn't say how long they were supposed to soak, though.
Ari'sora frowned. Knowing how long the blotting paper needed to soak for was rather important. But she didn't know if she should risk annoying their professor further by asking.
fortunately, another student asked about it before she could decide whether to ask or not. Professor Freid frowned at him for several trills before he picked up one of the copies of the recipe and glanced it over. Then he sighed.
"I'll tell you when to take it out." he said at last.
With that, he went back to the paper he had been reading. Ari'sora hoped that he didn't forget like he had forgotten other things in the past. But after a while, he did tell them to remove the paper, and Ari'sora was quick to do just that. According to the recipe, the final step was to allow the newly made litmus paper to dry. Once it had, it would be ready to use.
"Class is almost over, so it looks like we won't be able to use the litmus paper you've made to test the three substances we were supposed to. You can do that on your own time once your litmus paper is dry as part of your homework. With that, Professor Fried gave them the rest of their assignment; some reading, and to make some more litmus paper and to use it to test twenty substances of their choice and write a paper about the results. Then he dismissed the class and left them to their own devices.
