PLOS Science Wednesday: Hi Reddit, I’m Tom Kaye, here to talk about how
my team uses laser fluorescence in our paleontology research, Ask Me
Anything!
Abstract
Hi Reddit! I am Tom Kaye, Associate Researcher with the Burke Museum in
Seattle, Washington. My research uses lasers to make fossils and
minerals fluoresce in ways never seen before. My team recently published
a paper in PLOS ONE titled “Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in
Paleontology” where in one example we used our system to identify the
origin of a bracelet that was placed around the arm of a 6,000 year old
skeleton of a girl. We also demonstrated the use of laser fluorescence
to automatically sort microfossils, its ability to “back light”
feathers preserved as carbon films and light up micro-fossils that were
normally invisible under the surface. We are also taking the laser
underground and using it to fluoresce and photograph cave formations at
great distances! I hope to answer lots of interesting questions at the
PLOS AMA at 1pm ET (10 am PT, 5 pm UTC), and you can follow my science
adventures on Facebook. See you all soon!