December 3rd 2009
Tell a book by its scent, scientists say
Perhaps you can’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s a wealth of information to be gleaned from its scent.
Old books give off an unmistakable, musty odor. Scientists have developed a new test that can measure the condition of old books and precious historical documents on the basis of their aroma.
Strlie and his team surveyed the VOC emissions from 72 paper samples in different stages of decay. From those results, the researchers developed a series of scent markers for the structural stability of documents, books and other paper materials.
The familiar odors of old books, which Strlie’s study describes as “a combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla” varies depending on the chemical reactions and oxidation rates of paper ingredients, such as ash, cellulose, rosin and lignin.
The paper manufacturing era of each book can also reveals a lot about its condition.
“It’s really the technology revolution after 1850 that led to what we call ‘acid paper’ that degrades very rapidly,” Strlie told Discovery News. “Today, for books produced from 1890 to 1900, the pages are already very brittle.
With current testing technology, analyzing such fragile books and heritage documents for preservation and exhibition is often a tedious process. This new scent test, however, could save conservators time and allow them to examine the papers nondestructively.
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