Simulating the Shroud of Turin: A Laboratory Experiment

Abstract

The Shroud of Turin, a piece of linen cloth bearing an anatomically correct image of a crucified human being, which resembles Jesus of Nazareth, has been an enigma to scientists. While recent studies including radiocarbon dating suggest the cloth is a medieval relic, few if any proposals have been put forward that satisfactorily explain how the image was generated. In combination with a lecture on the scientific method and the problem of bias, a laboratory experiment has been developed that allows science students to attempt to simulate the image on the Shroud. The experiment involves an active-learning experience in which students discover which techniques do not work to generate the image and which begin to suggest how such an image could have been generated.