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The Statue Of Liberty Color Change

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The Statue Of Liberty Color Change
Statue of Liberty Color Change

There have been many discussions on why the Statue of Liberty has changed color over the years. The true color of the Statue of Liberty was a reddish-brown, copper. Now, it is a blue-green color that most people recognize it for. The true reason for the color change is chemical reactions due to aging. Indeed, statues age just as people do, and like people, it changes in appearance over time. The Statue of Liberty, being made of copper and being outside, has experienced patination. Patination is the process in which a metal obtains a layer of oxidized metal on the surface due to many chemical processes. Another chemical process that often occurs is acid rain. "Acid rain is thought to be caused by the increase
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The statue's copper skin formed a coating of the green mineral brochantite, a protective patina," as mentioned before through the patination process. (Kent 6) The only way to help reduce the patination process is by thoroughly cleaning the statue almost weekly.

Now, a "thorough study, which is awaiting funding, will involve detailed chemical analyses of corrosion products to find ways to halt or stabilize the damage." (Kent 13) There must be enough people that help donate money in order for the analyses to be in-depth. Also, this must happen quickly, the quicker they find out how to stabilize the damage, the quicker it can stop deteriorating. Firstly, the statue must be cleaned and cleaned safely. "There are a number of ways to safely clean it up, but then you'd have to decide whether the green has achieved some significant status, or whether it should go back to the original copper-brown." (Kent 25) So some wish to keep the statue the way it is now, while others wish to restore it. That's not the real question though, the real question is, "How soon can they stabilize the deterioration process of the Statue of

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