Decay of Paper (and similar things)

[BMR]

Hello, I'm Brian Ranzoni!

I'm new to the SJGames site and new to the Fourth Edition of GURPS as well. I'm working out a variety of gadgets based on paper. My question is: what are the rules on biodegradation of organic products? Is this something I find in Bio-Tech, or have they yet to be invented?

For the GMs, how do you handle the strengths and fragility of paper props in your adventures?

I played GURPS back in its 3e days, and I still have many of the books, but this is a question I can't recall coming up in my adventures.

[capnq]

Originally Posted by BMR

what are the rules on biodegradation of organic products? Is this something I find in Bio-Tech, or have they yet to be invented?

It's not about paper, but Bio-Tech p.140 discusses how fast a body decays.

If you don't have Bio-Tech, there's 3rd ed. GURPS Undead pp.20-21 (sidebars) about the pathology of death.

[Kizara]

Since under normal condictions paper takes dozens to hundreds of years to decay past the point of use, I highly doubt many groups track it.

[nick012000]

For Gadgets, I'd call it a Nuisance Effect, at most, unless they're Unique.

[BMR]

Decades and centuries are fine--some adventures might involve finding an ancient book, or a long-lost paper dress that must be worn to appease the Ga-God.

For "smart paper" and other electronics that involve cellulose, their performance may be affected long before they become fully broken, decaying as the paper decays.

For a campagin with recent products, this wouldn't matter. But I got the whole idea in the first place from the Post Apocalypse issue of Pyramid, where adventurers might be stumbling across tech that was decades or centuries old.

[Jerron]

Conditions make a huge difference. "Normal" is quite vague. Look at the Declaration of Independance- it is again under reconditioning, even though it was kept in the best of environments, vacuum sealed, humidty controlled, and all. It would be dust now if it wasn't for the special care it has recieved, and that's just over 2 centuries.

Also, the medium is very important. Not only does the ink fade, but the amount of stuff in the ink matters- squid, charcoal, whatver it might be. The paper of today might last quite a while if you're talking commercial grade copier paper, but what about newsprint? That stuff yellows and turns brittle in few months, and decades old articles saved crefully are barely able to be handled.

Perhaps a good place to look would be museum-related sites that do reconditioning on this scale?

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Jerron

Conditions make a huge difference. "Normal" is quite vague.

To say the least. Papyri stored (that is, tossed aside and left to the elements) in more-or-less "normal" conditions for a desert have lasted millenia, whereas a modern book or newspaper stored in a shed without climate control might become illegible in a couple of years, but if it happens to get soaked once in a flood, by a burst water pipe, or just a drip from a crack in the roof, it can become a fused, mold-covered, useless mess in days. You need to consider not just "average" conditions through time, but the likelihood of unusual but not improbable events through time.

[Groslon]

How quickly paper decays depends on the amount of acid that is present in the paper, and any inks that are used. Newsprint doesn't last because the ink and paper are both very cheap, and are thus (relatively) highly acidic. Inks and paper can both be made acid free, it just costs a little more. The process involves manually or mechanically pulping the wood fibers rather than using cheaper, quicker chemicals. This is why many historic documents and papers have survived as long as they have, the processes used to make them didn't contain any of the chemicals that weaken modern paper and inks.

Acid free inks and papers are usually noted as such on the packaging, though it may also be referred to as "archival" paper. These products will not decay appreciably over time unless exposed to humidity or UV radiation.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Groslon

These products will not decay appreciably over time unless exposed to humidity or UV radiation.

Or for the layman - "air" and "light" respectively. Also don't underestimate the destructive nature of finger oils, and smoke (until the last 150 years or so, light that was low UV was high smoke - neither is good).

Older-style camera flashbulbs were intense UV sources. Flashes produced in the past 20-30 years are much safer for art objects, but curators still get the heebie jeebies about them.

For long term survival: create your document in a desert environment, then seal it up in an air-tight opaque container.

[Captain-Captain]

Originally Posted by BMR

Hello, I'm Brian Ranzoni!

I'm new to the SJGames site and new to the Fourth Edition of GURPS as well. I'm working out a variety of gadgets based on paper. My question is: what are the rules on biodegradation of organic products? Is this something I find in Bio-Tech, or have they yet to be invented?

For the GMs, how do you handle the strengths and fragility of paper props in your adventures?

I played GURPS back in its 3e days, and I still have many of the books, but this is a question I can't recall coming up in my adventures.

Welcome!! You may get some objections regarding text and font but aside from that... hope you enjoy it here! :)

As for your question, I cannot think of it being addressed in any real detail. TL will change how long an object lasts. Cheaper more advanced papers degrade faster do to acidic proceses introduced to speed production etc. Or that chemical advance next tech level that lets long silicon hydrogen chains be made very cheaply so that 'paper' like silicon plastic can be made from rocks rather than trees and lasts millenia. It's simply easier to use real life degradation times from the net or an encylopedia or... and handwave the rest.