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davidcyclebackThe inexpensive handheld kind should work fine. There are different sizes, styles and prices, but all you need is for it to emit longwave black light. Some of the expensive black lights are for special outdoor use where you need more power and/or where you need more than longwave black light-- ala in finding gems in a large cave or hunting fluorescent animals in the wild (scorpions fluoresce). A Cal Tech biochemistry labratory probably wouldn't use be using the $10 version. However, as a baseball card is inches in front of you and you only need longwave, the inexpensive lights should work fine.
To use it, you need a very dark room and you want a wait a few minutes to get your eyes adjusted. You want a table or background that doesn't fluoresce (most tables don't fluoresce) and a small piece of computer paper that fluoresces brightly (for comparison purposes). Many modern reprints of Pre-War cards will fluoresce brightly like the computer paper (as they have modern chemicals in them), and, for example, a fake 1933 Goudey will probably fluoresce differently than other real Goudeys. Black lights are particularly useful for identifying modern paper in cards, photos, tickes, etc-- as they will fluoresce like that computer paper.
You're supposed to get a longwave (as opposed to shortwave) black light. On eBay, the sellers don't always say which kind it is. However, if it's a cheap one and the sellers describes it as being used in detecting fake prints, refurnished furnature, countefeit currency, invisible inks, identifying glass and stuff like that, it's a longwave black light.
02-14-2007, 12:54 PM
Purchasing a black light...
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