Homemade Fingerprinting
Each person has his very own fingerprint, and every surface that a person touches can be dusted for fingerprints. Fingerprints have been used officially for identification since 1915 and have been used officially to solve crime since 1977, according to Onin. Aluminum powder is commonly used by professional forensic scientists, but several other methods of fingerprinting do exist. The most common, and one of the most effective, methods is a combination of soot and starch powder.
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Things You'll Need
- Candle
- Matches or lighter
- 2 porcelain plates
- Oven mitts or tongs
- Starch powder
- Mortar and pestle
- Clear tape
Instructions
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1
Light a candle.
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2
Hold one of the porcelain plates over the candle flame using tongs or an oven mitt. As the candle flame heats the porcelain, a film of black soot will develop on the upper surface of the porcelain plate.
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3
Use a butter knife to scrape the black soot from the porcelain plate onto a second plate. You may have to repeat steps 2 and 3 several times to acquire a decent amount of soot.
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4
Mix one part soot and one part starch powder on the second plate. Mix well so that both ingredients are blended thoroughly. Use a mortar and pestle for an especially fine blend. Starch powder, otherwise known as cornstarch powder, can be purchased at nearly any grocery store or supermarket.
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5
Sprinkle the soot and starch powder mixture over the area that you want to dust for fingerprints. Blow away excess powder. The fingerprint should be visible after the excess powder is blown away.
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6
Place a piece of tape, sticky side down, on the visible fingerprint. Scotch tape, or packaging tape, works best. Use clear tape, rather than colored tape.
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7
Lift the tape from the fingerprinted surface. Examine it. The fingerprint will be clear. Use a microscope or magnifying glass for more dramatic detail.
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1
Tips & Warnings
The more fine the soot and starch powder blend, the more detailed the fingerprint will be.
Use caution when lighting the candle, and when holding the porcelain plate over the candle. Candle flames can be very hot and can cause burns. Use oven mitts or tongs to hold the porcelain plate.
References
- Photo Credit Hi Detail Fingerprint 2 image by Andrew Brown from Fotolia.com
