Examining Bullets And Knives And Microphotography

Forensic Science is mainly involved with the study of weapons, especially on firearms and the behavior of bullets or shot fired from them, which is known as ballistic. For example, the forensic scientist may be able to match striations on a bullet found in the body of murdered victim with those on a bullet fired by a suspect’s gun. By firing a revolver at sheets of cardboard from various distances and studying the different gunpowder strains the bullet whole shapes using a forensic comparison microscope, they may be able to determine which of a group of armed criminals fired the lethal shot. A knife maybe stained with blood that can be analyzed chemically or it might be possible that when the knife was used some chip from the fingernails was left on the knife. It can also be considered that the knife bear a unique manufacturer’s mark which police can identify from a catalog or record file.

When a bullet is fired, marks are left on the end of used cartridge by the firing pin and on the sides of the bullet by the spiraled groove, or rifling, in the barrel. A pistol taken from the scene of a crime will be fired and the use of cartridges examined. Comparisons of firing pin marks and rifling marks will be made with a forensic comparison microscope.

Forensic scientists collect clues and evidence at the scene of a crime and take them back to the crime laboratory for further examination using forensic microscopes such as a forensic comparison microscope. They usually arrive at the scene of a crime with a box full of plastic collecting bottles, tubes and envelopes; tags for objects; a camera photograph the position of item such as dead body, bloodstains or weapon; a fingerprint kit; and scissors; tweezers etc. They always use a pair of gloves when they process evidence and then back at the laboratory they photograph microscope slide images to check them against police record and for use as evidence in court. This is a long and hard job. However, the evidence uncovered by such painstaking police procedures has helped put many criminal behind bars. And the advanced technology has helped unload the burden of most forensic scientist. The development of fingerprinting has been a great breakthrough in forensic science. The electron microscope is also one of the best contributions to the field of forensic investigation.

The electron microscope can produced colored photographs of the specimen being analyzed. There are two main types of electron microscope. In a transmission type (TEM), a beam of electron is passed through a very thin slice of tissue is an image is produce on a screen. The second one is the scanning electron microscope (SEM), a fine beam of electrons is moved across the surface of the tissue for reflections to be collected and used to create an image on a television type of screen. Using an SEM, realistic 3-D images produced. But as with all types of microscope specimens, the tissue and organs are no longer alive. The slide preparation process kills live cells. The colors on the photos produced using an SEM are false colors added in processing.

5. Software 4. Fabric or Fiber Analysis The principles behind fabric or fiber analysis are the same as the ones that hair strand inspection follows. Just like hair strands, it is possible that the criminal’s shirt or pants had caught in a nail or the victim’s grasp in the crime scene. Small evidences like there are placed under the forensic comparison investigation microscope so that detectives will have a fair idea as to who the suspect was. The color and the type of fabric the suspect wore can be used as an indication of what type of person he is, what work he does, and probably, if other people had such seen such a person wearing that color of a shirt inside the premises.

5. Documentation of Evidences Evidences are nothing if they cannot be properly documented for further reference. And this job becomes easier with forensic comparison investigation microscopes as well. These microscopes are not merely used to investigate crimes. It also has the ability to store evidences through a digital image on a computer, a database, or a secured server. This is the same reason why investigators can easily involve and rule out suspects. Those are the five major applications of forensic comparison investigation microscopes. With all of these, it is very safe to say that these microscopes play a big role in promoting justice in the society.

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