Summer is almost upon us (well at least on in the northern hemisphere) – so it’s the time of the year were you spend long days’ outdoors, at the pool, the park or the beach. Although being outside in the sun feels pretty amazing, we all have one common enemy when we’re being exposed to the sun for an extensive amount of time – sunburns. Yeah I know I should use sunscreen, but even with the most diligent use of sunscreen burns can still happen if you’re outside long enough So how awesome would it be if there was a technology that would tell you when to head indoors or cover up before a sunburn happens? Fortunately for us there finally is! A printable paper-based sensor, developed by a team of Australian researchers, helps people to monitor their sun exposure and can account for different skin tones and even sunscreen levels. When the sensor changes color due to UV radiation, get the hell out of the sun (or just reapply some sunscreen) The sensor is made up out of titanium dioxide and food dye on a normal piece of paper. When a certain amount of UV radiation hits the sensor, the titanium dioxide causes the food dye to change color. And when this happens it indicates that you need to reapply some goddamn sunscreen or get the hell out of the sun. Furthermore, the researchers added also a UV neutral density filter that can speed up or slow down the color change in the sensor based upon skin tones and SPF levels. Pretty amazing right?! Source
