Microscopy renders in 3D the bullet that killed JFK
In November 1963, a bullet ended the life of President John Kennedy, plunging a nation into mourning and changing the course of history. Now, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology have digitized two fragments of the bullet, rendering it in 3D detail.
The digital replicas were produced using focus variation microscopy, a technique that uses images taken at different focal distances using a microscope to create a 3D rendering. The team also used confocal microscopy, a technique that allows for higher resolution images of certain sections of the artifacts.
The bullet fragments weren’t the only items the team imaged. Scientists also photographed two bullets discharged as test shots by FBI firearms experts during the assassination investigation and the “stretcher bullet,” a bullet that struck both Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connally. It was found on Connally’s stretcher after he was taken to the hospital.
They preserved another bullet that assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had unsuccessfully fired at Edwin Walker, an anti-communist public figure and former major general, seven months before he killed Kennedy.
NIST didn’t analyze the bullets, but the physical sciences laboratory is conducting experiments with 3D surface maps for more accurate ballistics testing. When fired, gun barrels produce microscopic markings known as striations on bullets and cartridge cases.
Forensic examiners present comparisons of the striations of test shots and used bullets during trials of criminal cases. The technique is more than a century old, however.
NIST scientists are developing methods they hope will eventually allow forensic examiners to statistically quantify similarities between bullet striations and provide more reliable evidence in criminal cases.
When the scans are made available early next year, they will allow the public to see the objects without removing the real things from the National Archives.