Chapter4

PROPERTIESOFMATTER
ANDTHEANALYSISOF
GLASS

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

41

Physicalvs.ChemicalProperties
Theforensicscientistmustconstantlydeterminethose
propertiesthatimpartdistinguishingcharacteristicsto
matter,givingitauniqueidentity.
Physicalpropertiessuchasweight,volume,color,
boilingpoint,andmeltingpointdescribeasubstance
withoutreferencetoanyothersubstance.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

42

Physicalvs.ChemicalProperties
Achemicalpropertydescribesthebehaviorof
asubstancewhenitreactsorcombineswith
anothersubstance.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

43

MeasurementSystem
Scientiststhroughout
theworldusethemetric
systemofmeasurement.
Themetricsystemhas
basicunitsof
measurementforlength,
mass,andvolume;they
arethemeter,gram,
andliter,respectively.
FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.
By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

44

MeasurementSystem
Thefollowingarecommonprefixesusedinthe
metricsystem:deci,centi,milli,micro,nano,
kilo,andmega.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

45

TheNatureofMatter
Anelementisthesimplestsubstanceknown
andprovidesthebuildingblockfromwhichall
matteriscomposed.
Matterisanythingthathasamassand
occupiesspace.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

46

TheNatureofMatter
Alloftheelementsarelistedbynameand
symbolintheperiodictable.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

47

TheNatureofMatter
Twoormoreelementscombinetoforma
compound.
Anatomisthebasicparticleofanelementand
amoleculeisthesmallestunitofacompound.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

48

TheStatesofMatter
Mattercanbeclassifiedaccordingtothe
physicalformittakes.
Soliddefiniteshapeandvolume
Liquidspecificvolume,takestheshapeofits
container
Gas/vaporneitheradefiniteshapenor
volume

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

49

TheStatesofMatter
Substancescanchangefromonephaseto
anotherwithoutforminganewchemical
species,matterissimplybeingchangedfrom
physicalstatetoanother.
Wheneverasituationexistsinwhicha
substancecanbedistinguishedbyavisible
boundary,differentphasesexist.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

410

TheoryofLight
Twomodelsdescribethebehavioroflight.
Lightisdescribedasacontinuouswave.
Lightisdepictedasastreamofdiscreteenergy
particles.
Whenwhitelightpassesthoughaprism,itis
dispersedintoacontinuousspectrumofcolors.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

411

TheoryofLight
Visiblelightrangesincolorfromredtoviolet
intheelectromagneticspectrum.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

412

TheoryofLight
Wavesaredescribedintermssuchas:
Wavelength,thedistancebetweentwo
successivecrests(oronetroughtothenext
trough).
Frequency,thenumberofcrests(ortroughs)
passinganyonegivenpointperunitoftime.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

413

TheoryofLight
Frequencyandwavelengthareinversely
proportionaltooneanother.
Theelectromagneticspectrumistheentire
rangeofradiationenergyfromthemost
energeticcosmicraystotheleastenergetic
radiowaves.
Visiblelightisonlyasmallpartofthe
electromagneticspectrum.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

414

TheoryofLight
Aselectromagneticradiationmovesthrough
space,itsbehaviorcanbedescribedasthatofa
continuouswave;however,onceradiationis
absorbedbyasubstance,itisbestdescribedas
discreteparticlesoflightknownasphotons.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

415

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Temperatureisameasureofheatintensity,or
thehotnessorcoldnessofasubstance.
Inscience,themost
commonlyusedtemperature
scaleistheCelsiusscale.
Thisscaleisderivedby
assigningthefreezing
pointofwateravalue
of0Canditsboiling
pointavalueof100C.
FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.
By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

416

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Weightistheforcewithwhichgravity
attractsabody.
Massreferstotheamountofmatteranobject
containsindependentofgravity.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

417

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Themassofanobjectisdeterminedby
comparisontotheknownmassofstandard
objects.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

418

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Densityisdefinedasthemassperunit
volume.(D=M/V)
Densityisanintensivepropertyofmatter,
meaningitremainsthesameregardlessof
samplesize.
Itisconsideredacharacteristicpropertyofa
substanceandcanbeusedasanaidin
identification.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

419

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Lightwavestravelinairataconstantvelocity
untiltheypenetrateanothermedium,suchas
glassorwater,atwhichpointtheyaresuddenly
slowed,causingtheraystobend.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

420

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Thebendingoflightwavesbecauseofachange
invelocityiscalledrefraction.
Refractiveindexistheratioofthevelocityof
lightinavacuumtothatinthemediumunder
examination.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

421

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Forexample,at25oCtherefractiveindexof
wateris1.333.
Thismeansthatlighttravels1.333timesfaster
inavacuumthanitdoesinwater.
Likedensity,refractiveindexisanintensive
propertyandwillservetocharacterizea
substance.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

422

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Crystallinesolidshavedefinitegeometricforms
becauseoftheorderlyarrangementoftheir
atoms.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

423

ImportantPhysicalProperties
Thesesolidsrefractabeamoflightintwo
differentlightraycomponents.
Thisresultsindoublerefraction.
Birefringenceisthenumericaldifference
betweenthesetworefractiveindices.
Notallsolidsarecrystallineinnature.For
example,glasshasarandomarrangementof
atomstoformanamorphousornoncrystalline
solid.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

424

GlassFragments
Glassisahard,brittle,amorphoussubstance
thatiscomposedofsiliconoxidesmixedwith
variousmetaloxides.
Amorphoussolidshavetheiratomsarranged
randomly,unlikecrystals.
Temperedglassisstrongerthannormalglass
duetorapidheatingandcooling.
Laminatedglassfoundincarwindshieldshasa
layerofplasticbetweentwopiecesofordinary
windowglass.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

425

GlassFragments
Fortheforensicscientist,theproblemofglass
comparisonisonethatdependsontheneedto
findandmeasurethosepropertiesthatwill
associateoneglassfragmentwithanotherwhile
minimizingoreliminatingothersources.
Tocompareglassfragments,aforensicscientist
evaluatestwoimportantphysicalproperties:
densityandrefractiveindex.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

426

FlotationMethod
Theflotationmethodisaratherpreciseand
rapidmethodforcomparingglassdensities.
Intheflotationmethod,aglassparticleis
immersedinaliquid.
Thedensityoftheliquidiscarefullyadjusted
bytheadditionofsmallamountsofan
appropriateliquiduntiltheglasschipremains
suspendedintheliquidmedium.
FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.
By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

427

FlotationMethod
Atthispoint,theglasswillhavethesame
densityastheliquidmediumandcanbe
comparedtootherrelevantpiecesofglass
whichwillremainsuspended,sink,orfloat.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

428

ImmersionMethod
Theflotationandtheimmersionmethodsare
bestusedtodetermineaglassfragments
densityandrefractiveindex,respectively.
Thelatterinvolvesimmersingaglassparticle
inaliquidmediumwhoserefractiveindexis
varieduntilitisequaltothatoftheglass
particle.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

429

ImmersionMethod
Atthispoint,knownasthematchpoint,the
Beckelinedisappearsandminimumcontrast
betweenliquidandparticleisobserved.
TheBeckelineisabrighthalonearthe
boarderofaparticlethatisimmersedina
liquidofadifferentrefractiveindex.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

430

AnalyzingCracks
Thepenetrationofwindowglassbya
projectile,whetheritisabulletorastone,
producescrackswhichradiateoutward(radial
fractures)andencirclethehole(concentric
fractures).

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

431

AnalyzingCracks
Byanalyzingtheradialandconcentricfracture
patternsinglass,theforensicscientistcan
determinethedirectionofimpact.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

432

AnalyzingCracks
Ahighvelocityprojectilesuchasabulletoften
leavesaholethatiswiderattheexitside,and
henceitsexaminationisimportantin
determiningthedirectionofimpact.
Thedirectionofimpactcanalsobe
accomplishedbyapplyingthe3RRule:Radial
cracksformaRightangleontheReverseside
oftheforce.
Thesequenceofimpactswhentherehavebeen
successivepenetrationsofglass,isfrequently
possibletodeterminebecauseafracturealways
terminatesatanexistinglineoffracture.
FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.
By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

433

CollectionofGlass
Ifeventheremotestpossibilityexiststhatglass
fragmentsmaybepiecedtogether,everyeffort
mustbemadetocollectalltheglassfound.
Whenanindividualfitisthoughtimprobable,
theevidencecollectormustsubmitallglass
evidencefoundinthepossessionofthesuspect
alongwitharepresentativesampleofbroken
glassremainingatthecrimescene.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

434

CollectionofGlass
Theglassfragmentsshouldbepackagedin
solidcontainerstoavoidfurtherbreakage.
Ifthesuspectsshoesand/orclothingaretobe
examinedforthepresenceofglassfragments,
theyshouldbeindividuallywrappedinpaper
andtransmittedtothelaboratory.

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An Introduction, 2nd ed.

By Richard Saferstein

2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

435