cadaverine

Cadaverine and Putrescine

Rogers was convinced that amine vapors emanating from a human corpse, principally very foul smelling cadaverine and putrescine, would react with the concentration layer of starches and saccharides. The reaction, a Maillard reaction, would cause a yellow or browning coloring of the layer covering the outermost fibers of the thread. But would it cause a distinctly clear, almost photorealistic image on a cloth draped over a body? Instinctively, intuitively, rationally people doubted that amine vapors could.

Rogers thought it might. Amine molecules are very heavy compared to many other gaseous materials. They behave differently. But do they behave differently enough? He conducted experiments and found that he could produce rough images at a small distance.