Cassidy Major

Ms. Larson
DVS Physics
April 1, 2014
What is the retinas purpose at a crime scene?
I will be discussing how the retina works at a crime scene when it sees luminol. I
chose CSI as the theme for this project because I love the show and when I was doing
my research, I discovered the physics behind it.

At first, I predicted that the retina just reflect the light that the eye absorbs and
sends the signals to the optic nerve. The nerve would then send those signals it
receives from the retina to the brain.

Most people think that CSI doesnt involve a lot of science and math because it is
just a TV show. But, there actually is math and science behind the show (for example, it
sometimes shows the CSIs mixing chemicals or are calculating a cars speed if
someone got hit by one.)

We use models in science and engineering to explain the different ideas we
have. In engineering, models are used to analyze systems, and in science, they are
used to explain phenomena. My model is a behavioral model because it is explaining
how the eye reflects and absorbs the luminols light from a blacklight.

I decided on this specific model after I learned I could do a CSI theme. I
discovered the physics behind this subject and thought that the theme was very creative
and would be very different from other themes.

I have two different parts of my model. One part is a life-size eye, and will be
explaining all the different functions of each part. The other is a crime scene, which will
show the luminols light absorption and reflection.

Before I can explain reflection and absorption in more detail, we first have to
know what light and light waves are. A wave is a disturbance in space or time that
carries energy from one part to the other. Every wave has a certain frequency.
Frequency is how common something occurs. It is measured in Hertz (Hz.) Light is a
transverse wave (meaning that the wave travels up and down) that we can see. These
waves travel faster than sound and have six visible colors: red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, and violet.

My model shows the process of light reflection and absorption. Reflection is the
process in which light waves are bent back to face the original source. Absorption is
when the light waves are sucked into another source. In the model, the light waves
from the blacklight are being transferred into the blood and after the liquid changes a
different color, the new light waves are being reflected back to the eye.

When light is reflected through a medium, or the material that light travels
through, the light rays are bent and the bent light is reflected back to its original source.
In this scenario, when the blacklight shines on the blood, light waves are being
absorbed. When the blood absorbs the light, only the blue light is reflected back. As a
result, the blue light, having a higher frequency, quickly travels throughout the eye to the
retina.

The retinas purpose at a crime scene is to correctly help the brain and optic
nerve identify the colors it is seeing. Once the electric signals reach the brain, it tells
what color the object is. Or, it can be telling the color of reflected or absorbed light.

I learned about the physics behind CSI as I built my whole crime scene and eye,
along with the blacklight. Some of the challenges I had when I was building the model
were gluing the sandpaper onto the cardboard, figuring out where to put the
tumbleweeds and cacti, and where to put the blood and body.

If I had explained everything, no one would be able to understand what I am
saying without a model. If I just said that the blacklights light absorption and reflection
process, it would be very hard to visualize what I am saying if you havent watched the
show or know what a blacklight or luminol are.



Works Cited
www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/demos/waves-intro/waves-intro.html
physics.info/light/
www.csiwikia.com (pictures)
supermodels video notes