Most criminals aren’t known for their smarts. They’re certainly no match for Bond, John Bond. The http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/press-releases/2000-2009/2008/09/nparticle.2008-09-05.4393670335 head of forensics at the Northamptonshire Police in the UK has found a new way to reveal http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7592281.stm fingerprints on shells left behind after a shooting. His work builds on the recent discovery that the extreme heat released when firing a gun causes salt from finger sweat to slightly corrode the casing. As we’ve learned from CSI, fingerprint experts typically coat casings in vaporized superglue to turn the prints white, but that works only if the sweat hasn’t dissipated. Bond realized that by applying electricity instead of glue, prints can be detected years after a bullet is fired. He has already helped the police in Kingsland, Georgia, identify prints on four shells from a 1999 crime scene, and he’s working on others. Here’s how it’s done.
1// Collect casings at the crime scene =
description Bullet casings are usually brass, the perfect metal (soft, but not too soft) to react with sweat, instantaneously corroding when a gun is fired. 
2// Apply electrical charge =
description Zap the casing with 2,500 volts of electricity. The area where it’s corroded—the fingerprint—won’t hold as much energy as the rest of the metal. 
3 // Sprinkle on conductive powder =
description Superfine flakes of carbon (Bond used toner from his photocopier) will stick to areas of low energy on the brass casing, revealing the print. 
4 // Take a picture =
description Just as with any ordinary fingerprint, a digital image can be run against law enforcement databases. Find a match and you’ve got your shooter (or at least your loader).
