Topic: Oxidation.

Why do papers turn yellow?

They really do.

You don't believe me?

Alright.

Then why don't you spray some oxygen on the papers?

See, I was correct.

Do you know why this happens?

This happens mainly because of oxidation.

Oxidation is a chemical process in which a substance combines with oxygen.

Now, paper is primarily made up of wood.

Wood is made up of cellulose and lignin.

Now, these two components which are present in paper are susceptible to oxidation.

That is, when they are exposed to air, they are likely to combine with oxygen.

Causing the color of paper to change from white to yellow.

But did you know that newspapers turn yellow relatively quickly as compared to books?

This is because there is more lignin in newspapers than in papers made for books.

Lignin is more susceptible to oxidation as compared to cellulose.

Hence, newspapers turn yellow faster than papers of books.

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