Abstract
Examination of cotton samples in ultraviolet light revealed a variable color fluorescence of the entire bale stock, ranging from violet to blue-violet to ivory-white. Further experiments in dicated that the entire fiber mass could be made ivory-white by heating. Unlike commercially ginned fibers, hand-ginned fibers appeared uniformly bluish in ultraviolet radiations, but they could also be made ivory-white on heating.
Experiments were carried out to ascertain whether these heated, white fluorescent fibers had different physical properties from the unheated, bluish fluorescent fibers. Of the various proper ties examined, only the bending stiffness was found to be different. The heated fluorescent fibers were the stiffer. The cause of this change in fiber fluorescence on heating was found to be associated with the formation of oxycellulose.
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