Reflection Paper

In

MSCJ 207

Metals, Paints, and Soil

Submitted to:

German G. Guaza, Ph. D.

Submitted by:

Hamana U Sinangkad

November 26, 2021

Introduction:

Many produced goods, as well as the majority of natural materials include

modest amounts of components in low concentrations. The presence of traces is

important to the offender. Components are especially valuable since they give

invisible marks that may be used to determine a material's provenance or at the

very least provide extra points for comparison.

Atomic spectroscopy is a powerful analytical method for detecting and

measuring components in a sample with great accuracy and confidence. These

methods are critical in forensic science because they can identify even tiny levels

of components in extremely small volumes of a sample. It is feasible to link the

available evidence to the victim or perpetrator in this way. It may also be utilized

for high-sensitivity and quantitative sampling of a variety of substances.

In a number of crimes, such as hit-and-runs, assaults, and burglaries, paint

evidence is transferred. Automotive, architectural, and maintenance paints are

the most common types of paint evidence found. Other coatings and polymers

can be included in a paint examination. In forensic science, paint analysis seeks

to determine its source of origin by comparing the questioned sample to a

standard. Paint can be found on the scene of the crime in a variety of places,

including tools, walls, glass and glass shards, fingers, nails, roadways, and motor

vehicles.
 Soils vary so much from place to placed, dirt can be used to show a

relationship between a suspect and a crime scene. Parent materials, temperature,

water condition, vegetation, time, and chemical reactions such as solution,

oxidation, and reduction, as well as human activities, all play a role in the soil

formation process. Because many criminal cases can occur in conditions when

soil moves to a criminal or victim, soil can contribute vital information to

criminal investigations as transfer evidence. Soil is a complicated combination

with a wide range of mineralogical, chemical, biological, and physical

characteristics.

Body:

The electromagnetic radiation released by the atoms of an element is

commonly analyzed in atomic spectroscopy. Because this electromagnetic

radiation is particularly specific to each atom, detection is extremely precise,

even for little sample quantities. Glass, paint, dirt, narcotics, and gunshot residue

are among items that are regularly seen in forensic science. As a result, atomic

spectroscopy may be used to identify these components and perform a

confirmatory study on them.

An emission spectrograph vaporizes and warms samples to a high

temperature, causing the material's atoms to get excited. State The excited atoms

emit light under these conditions. When light is broken down into its

constituents, the result is a line spectrum. The distinctive line frequencies of each
constituent in the spectrum can be used to identify it. In inductively coupled

plasma, the sample is delivered into a heated plasma in the form of an aerosol,

resulting in charged particles that emit light with wavelengths that match to the

identification of the elements present.

Paint is described as a one-of-a-kind homogenous blend of three primary

ingredients. Binder, pigment, VOC, and additives are all elements that, when

combined, create a finished product. Applied as a thin coating to the surface that

dries solid following oxidation, evaporation, and polymerization, adherent film.

Paint properties should have a high hiding power and the needed hue, be able to

withstand the ambient conditions in which it will be used, be washable, resist

corrosion, and have the requisite consistency property to prevent permanent

change of form for a specific application. The paint should be utilized for its

intended purpose, and the film created by applying the paint to a surface should

be glossy.

The microscope has long been and continues to be the most significant tool

for locating and comparing paint samples. Given the dozens of paint hues and

tints available, it's easy to see why color, more than any other feature, gives paint

its most unique look. Features that are forensic. Color, surface texture, and color

layer sequence should be evaluated side by side under a stereoscopic microscope

for both questioned and known specimens. We can determine numerous

physical properties, such as color, texture, kind of paint/varnish, existence of dirt

layers, and material composition, thanks to the microscopes' outstanding

magnification power.

Soil is defined as any decomposed natural or manmade substance that

rests on or near the earth's surface. The investigation of naturally existing rocks,

minerals, plants, and animal waste is simply one aspect of forensic soil testing. It

also includes the identification of artificial materials like glass, paint chips,

asphalt, brick pieces, and cinders, which can provide soil properties that make it

distinctive to a certain area. When this material is unintentionally or

purposefully acquired in a way that links it to a crime under investigation, it

constitutes useful physical evidence. We can determine numerous physical

properties, such as color, texture, kind of paint varnish, existence of dirt layers,

and material composition, thanks to the microscopes' outstanding magnification

power.

The importance of dirt as evidence is based on its frequency at crime

scenes and its potential to be transferred from the site to the perpetrator. When

compared to soil samples gathered at the crime scene, soil or dried mud

discovered adhered to a suspect's clothing or shoes, or to a car, may link a

suspect or object to the murder scene. forensic soil analysis, like most sorts of

physical evidence, is comparative in nature; soil found in the suspect's

possession must be meticulously gathered and compared to soil samples from

the crime scene and its environs.

Conclusion:

As a result, I've come to the conclusion that metals, paints, and soil are all

part of trace evidence. Paint evidence is found in the majority of hit-and-run

incidents, and it might be used to establish a relationship between the victim and

the offending vehicle. Paint evidence can also be found in a variety of other

crimes, such as burglaries and homicides. Soils have a wide range of features and

characteristics that can be used as evidence in criminal cases. They can also assist

by evaluating soil survey data, measuring soil reaction (pH), and utilizing

geophysical equipment to locate unmarked or mismarked graves. The forensic

soil scientist performs chemical and physical analytical tests on soil samples

collected at the crime site and compares them to soil samples discovered on the

suspect or his or her possessions. Radar energy pulses are used by scientists to

search for cracks in the soil's structure.