How thick is the residue from a fingerprint?

Question

I am trying to work out the mass added to a small glass sphere when it is picked up with bare fingers.

Wouldn't that depend a lot on your skin type, how moist your skin is, what stuff you have touched before,... ? — skymningen, Nov 11 '15 at 08:12
Yes, but there must be an average. I am weighing stuff to an accuracy of a microgram — Dirk Bruere, Nov 11 '15 at 08:56

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 19 '23 at 15:04

2

The average thickness of a latent fingerprint is .1 micron. Or, <10 micrograms.

answered Feb 19 '23 at 15:04

Benjamin Witt

1

Presumably that would be for a full print from the first joint of the finger (i.e. the bit that they do the fingerprint ID from), and would decrease with less contact area and increase with more area covered. I wonder how big the "small glass spheres" OP is using are? – bob1 Feb 19 '23 at 20:20

1 Answers1