PHYSICAL PROPERTIES –

GLASS AND SOILForensic Science

I. PROPERTIES A. Physical

Physical properties = describe a substance without reference to any other substance ex. Weight, color, boiling point, and melting point

B. Chemical Chemical properties = describes the behavior of a

substance when it reacts or combines with another substance

ex. When wood burns, it chemically combines with oxygen in the air to form new substances

ex. Marquis reagent turns purple in the presence of heroin

II. METRIC SYSTEM basic units of measurement = length (meter),

mass (gram), and volume (liter) volume can be defined in terms of length At times it may be necessary to convert units from

the metric to the English or vice versa D. Some of the more useful equivalents:

1 inch = 2.54 cm I meter = 39.37 inches 1 pound = 453.6 grams 1 liter = 1.06 quarts 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds

III. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Temperature

The determination of the physical properties of any material will often require the measurement of temperature

Temperature is the measure of heat intensity, or the hotness or coldness of a substance

The two most common temperature scales used are the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales

Fahrenheit- water boils at 212 F and freezes at 32 F ̊̊ ̊̊ Celsius- water boils at 100 C and freezes at 0 C ̊ ̊

III. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES B. Weight and Mass

The force with which gravity attracts a body is called weight

Mass differs from weight because it refers to the amount of matter an object contains and is independent to its location on earth or any other place in the universe

In the metric system, the basic unit of mass is the gram The mass of an object is determined by comparing it

against the know mass of standard objects The comparison is performed on a balance

C. DENSITY mass per unit volume intensive property of matter – is the same

regardless of the size of a substance is a characteristic property of a substance and

can be used as an aid in identification

Solids are more dense than liquids, and liquids more dense than gases

The volume of gases and liquids vary considerably with temperature so when determining density, it is important to control and record temperature at which the measurements are made

D. REFRACTIVE INDEX Light waves travel in air at a constant velocity of nearly

300 million meters per second until they penetrate another medium

When light waves hit another medium, they slow, causing the rays to bend

The bending of light wave because of a change in velocity is called refraction

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to that in any medium determines the refractive index

Like density, the refractive index is an intensive property of matter and can serve to characterize a substance

Tests used to determine a substance’s refractive index must be performed under carefully controlled temperature and lighting conditions

Normally a solid or a liquid would be expected to exhibit only one refractive index value, however, many solids that are crystalline in nature will have two refractive indices whose values in part depend on the direction in which the light enters the crystal with respect to the crystal axis

1. crystalline solids – have definite geometric forms because of the orderly arrangement of the fundamental particle of a solid, the atom

2. amorphous solids – a solid in which the constituent atoms or molecules are arranged in random or disordered patterns, ex. Glass

GLASS CHARACTERISTICS birefringence – a difference in the two indices of

refraction exhibited by most crystalline materials dispersion – the separation of light into its

component wavelengths

IV. COMPARING GLASS FRAGMENTS Broken and shattered glass fragments and minute

particles can be used to place a suspect at the crime scene.

Glass is a hard, brittle, amorphous substance that is composed of silicon oxides mixed with various metal oxides.

Tempered glass - glass to which strength is added by introducing stress through the rapid heating and cooling of the glass surface

Laminated glass - two sheets of ordinary glass bonded together with a plastic filmEx. Most car windshields

Glass will possess its greatest evidential value when it can be individualized to one source. This can only be accomplished when pieces can be assembled and physically fitted together

At this time, the physical properties of density and refractive index are used most successfully for characterizing glass particles.

Glass can be distinguished by a density determination and refractive indices. However, even glass fragments removed from a single sheet of glass may not have a uniform refractive index value

A significant difference in either density or refractive index proves that the glasses examined do not have a common origin.

FBI has a database of density and refractive indices of different glasses collected.

V. GLASS FRACTURES Glass bends in response to any force that is exerted on

any one of its surfaces; when the limit of its elasticity is reached, the glass fractures

Fractured glass may reveal information regarding force and direction of an impact

Radial – a crack in a glass that extends outward like the spoke of a wheel from the point at which the glass was struck

Concentric – a crack in a glass that forms a rough circle around the point of impact

Stress marks – are shaped like arches that are perpendicular to one glass surface and curved nearly parallel to the opposite surface

Radial cracks form a right angle on the reverse side of the force

When there have been successive penetrations of glass, it is frequently possible to determine the sequence of impact by observing the existing fracture lines and their points of termination. A fracture always terminates at an existing line of fracture.

VI. FORENSIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL Includes any disintegrated surface material, both

natural and artificial, that lies on or near the earth’s surface. Encompasses analysis of naturally occurring material such as rocks, minerals, vegetation and animal matter, as well as, glass, paint chips, asphalt, brick fragments, cinders, etc.

Value of soil as evidence rests with its prevalence at crime scenes and its transferability between the scene and the criminal

Soil evidence is comparative in nature Most soils can be differentiated and distinguished by

their gross appearance. Samples must be dried before comparison.

Low power microscopic examination of soil will reveal the presence of plant and animal materials as well as of artificial debris.

Minerals = a naturally occurring crystal and like any other crystal, its physical properties are most useful for identification.

Some forensic laboratories currently rely on the density-gradient tube technique to compare soil specimens.

Density – gradient tube = glass tube filled from bottom to top with liquids of successively lighter densities, used to determine the density distribution of soil.

The ultimate forensic value of soil evidence depends on its variation at the crime scene

Up to this time, there have been no statistically valid forensic studies on the variability of soil evidence.