This is a great video. I am not in forensics but I found this to be very interesting and informative. You explain it very clearly and it was very fun to watch. I actually learned something surfing youtube. =) Thank you.
I'm doing a forensic science degree and was thinking the same.. We've always been told not to press down on the lifting tape, just to gently smooth over to prevent air bubbles. Too much pressure can damage the ridges.
Super glue is not that easily distorted after it dries. To test the theory, put a dab of super glue on something then after it dries, press down on it. You will find that it is vary hard and the only way to change it's shape is to scrap it with your finger nail or something harder like a knife blade.
Hey Mike, great video; love your classes, would you please tell me how you treated the cotton balls? is it a saturated baking soda solution you used to soak the cotton? I tried this trick and just did not work. For some reason the super glue does not cause the exothermic reaction seen here. God bless you...
Hi yea, Not sure if you are still checking the comment section here. I tried using a coffee warmer I bought from Amazon, it is not hot enough to heat the superglue. Then I tried with a candle, but it gets so hot that so much of white fume was released. I was worried that it would be very harmful and explosive (well it shouldn't be explosive), so i didn't let it sit for more than 5 minutes. What temperature is the best for this experiment? Do you take into account the surrounding temperature?
Inge Hebnes Hårajuvet Hi, I didn't find my answer. There were too many variables I introduced to my experiment, and I didn't have a thermometer. My fingerprints turned out a little ugly unfortunately :(
Here is a page put up by an investigator for USACIL (the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory). onin.com/fp/cyanoho.html According to the article the fuming process takes a minimum of 10 minutes and you should check your test print after the first 10 minutes. Then, if the test print is not visible enough, fume for another 10 minutes. This time period is for small items such as a cup. Larger items will take longer and require more glue for proper fuming. Do yourself a favor and scroll down past the fuming tips to read the near fatal accidents that occurred. The author gives some solid safety tips for doing this.
+My Long Japanese Vacation YES YES and YES. The fumes will penetrate any openings in the electronics. You must decide whether fuming the object will be worth the possible evidence you may collect.
I can't believe you have so few views with quality content when some conspiracy troll has 19M views with similar but completely unprofessional everything. Clickbait actually works I guess. smh (I didn't go see his crap, actually :D)
How do you stop a business of people thieving and other things like getting evidence of the place where they have cut a huge hole in a chain link fence in front of my car which makes it look like I did it
I love all your videos! Thank you so much for making these! I do animal forensics (veterinary forensics). I wanted to know what happens if you over fume an item with fingerprints? Here is our organization: facebook.com/sunshinehaven
Hi Karolyn, If you over fume the fingerprint will turn all white and the ridge detail will be lost. It will just be a white blotch where the print was. If possible, put a test print on another object that is in the chamber. When the test print is done, your prints on the evidence will be done too. I mention it at about the 3:40 mark of the video as well to give you an example.
