GUN POWDER AND

EXPLOSIVES
 INTRO
In the investigation of crimes involving the use of
firearms, three most important problems may arise.
(1) The first and probably of primary importance is the
problem of determining whether or not a person has
fired a gun with bare hands within a pertinent period of
time.
(2) The other is the means of determining the probable
gunshot range i.e., the distance the firearm held from the
body of the victim at the time of discharged.
(3) A third problem may come up when the time of firing of
the gun becomes an issue.
 In connection with suspected
bombings the lab is requested to detect
traces of explosives that may be found in
remains of parts of a bomb. Explosives
like improvised and manufactured
dynamites used in illegal fishing, are
also examined.
 Two Kinds of Gunpowder

1. Black Powder – because of its inherent

defects modern ammunition plants abandoned
the use of this.
 It is possibly the oldest known explosive. It is
consists of an intimate mixture of charcoal –
15%, sulfur – 10% and potassium or sodium
nitrate – 75%.
2. Smokeless powder – is the most widely used
propellant. It can be either be a single based propellant or
double propellant.
It is consists of cellulose nitrate or glyceryl nitrate
combined with cellulose nitrate and some stabilizers.
Among the stabilizers used are nitrates, bichromates and
oxalates. Some of the organic stabilizers are nitrobenzene,
graphite and Vaseline. Stabilizers are added to reduce side
reactions. These combine with products of decomposition
and may have a negative or positive catalytic effect. When
exploded the following reactions occur:
C12H1404(NO3)6  9 CO + 3N2 + 7H2O + 3CO2
(Cellulose nitrate)
4C3H3(NO3)3  12CO2 + 10H2O + 6N2 + O2
(Glyceryl nitrate)
Types of Explosives
1. Mechanical – such as those caused by
expansion of gas producing high pressure
beyond capacity of the container.
2. Atomic – resulting from atomic
transformations.
3. Chemical – produced thru the extremely
rapid transformations of the unstable
substances accompanied by the formation of
heat.
Classification of Explosives
 The speed of the chemical reaction or detonation
of the explosives determines the classification of
explosives as low, initiating or high explosives.
1. LOW explosives are low burning and are used
mainly as propellants, like black powder and
smokeless powder. Atomic – resulting from
atomic transformations.
2. PRIMARY or INITIATING explosives are
extremely sensitive to detonation by heat, shock
friction and impact. They detonate without
burning, like lead oxide and mercury fulminate.
3. HIGH explosives detonate under the
influence of shock of the explosion of
a primary explosive.
• Ammonium nitrate – the cheapest
and most readily available salt of
nitric acid.
• TNT (trinitrotoluene) – the most
widely used explosive.
• Nitroglycerine – most widely used
commercial explosive.
 POSSIBLE LOCATIONS OF NITRATES
WHEN BLACK POWDER AND
SMOKELESS POWDER EXPLODE

 It will be notice that nitrates are present in both gun

powders so that one will expect to find nitrates
(NO3) in the following:
1. Residue of the barrel of the gun
2. In or around the wound
3. On the clothing of the person fired upon at
close range
4. On the exposed surfaced of the hand
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE PRESENCE AND
AMOUNT OF GUNPOWDER RESIDUES

a. Type and caliber of the ammunition – different

types of ammunition fired in the same weapon
and from the same distance may give different
pattern.
b. Length of the barrel of the gun – a weapon
with 2 inches barrel will deposit residues over
a larger area than a weapon having a five
inches barrel even though they are fired at the
same distance and with the same type of
ammunition.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE PRESENCE AND
AMOUNT OF GUNPOWDER RESIDUES

c. Distance of the muzzle of the gun from the

target.
d. Humidity – affects the spend with which powder
burns. Powder having lesser amount of moisture
will burn more rapidly and completely within a
given time yielding greater amount of residue.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE PRESENCE AND
AMOUNT OF GUNPOWDER RESIDUES
e. Wind velocity and direction – in high winds the
residue will be blown in the directions of the wind
yielding a scattered pattern.
f. Direction of firing – firing vertically, slightly greater
than firing horizontally from the same distance.
Power residues have weight. When gun is fired
downward or vertically all of the residence will fall
on the target, but when fired horizontally some of
the residues are likely to fall short of the target.
 DETERMINATION OF WHETHER OR NOT A
PERSON FIRED A GUN WITH HIS BARE
HANDS

 The burned residues are partially burned

particles may escape around the breech of the
gun and implanted on the exposed surface of
the hand firing the gun and the presence of this
particles serves as a basis for the
diphenylamine-paraffin test (DPA-Paraffin
Test).
 THEORY UPON WHICH THE
DIPHENYLAMINE PARAFFIN TEST IS
BASED

 At the instance of discharge there is a certain

amount of gases and mixture of burned
residues and partially burned particles that
escape from the breech of the gun. These
particles strike the exposed surface of the hand
holding the weapon and became implanted into
the skin.
 DIPHENYLAMINE PARAFFIN
TEST or DERMAL NITRATE
TEST or LUNGE
Diphenylamine Test
- a test to determine whether a person fired a gun
or not with bare hands.
Procedures:
a. Paraffin Test - the taking of the cast to extract the
nitrates embedded or implanted in the skin.
b. Diphenylamine Test – the chemical aspect of the test.
It determines the presence and distribution of
nitrates.
Reagent:
Diphenylamine reagent (0.5 gram
diphenylamine crystals dissolved in 100 ml of
sulfuric acid and 20 ml of water).

Visible Result:
Deep blue specks that develop when
nitrates comes in contact with diphenylamine
reagent.
 Limitation of the Diphenylamine-
Paraffin Test
1. The test is not specific for nitrates since the role of nitrate is
simply oxidizing agent. The test cannot determine the
source of nitrate.
2. There are other substances which contain nitrate oxidizing
agents that are not in the ordinary course of life like
fertilizers, explosives, tobacco, firecrackers, urine,
cosmetics and detergents.
3. In general persons do not have nitrates or other oxidants on
their hands as a matter of common occurrence.
4. Hands contaminated with nitrates from other sources than
gunpowder or any oxidant one will expect to find either a
smear blue color or conglomeration of blue specks located
at the different places of the hand both dolsar and palmar
aspects.
 POSSIBILITIES THAT A PERSON MAY BE
FOUND POSITIVE FOR NITRATES EVEN IF HE
DID NOT ACTUALLY FIRE A GUN

1. It is possible that the gunpowder particles may

have been blown on the hand directly from
the barrel of the gun being fired by another
person.
2. An attempt to shield the body by raising the
hand would in some instances result in the
implanting of powder particles on the hand
of a person close to one firing a gun.
 POSSIBILITIES THAT A PERSON MAY BE
FOUND NEGATIVE FOR NITRATES EVEN IF
HE ACTUALLY FIRED A GUN

1. Use of automatic pistol

2. Direction of the wind
3. Wind velocity
4. Excessive precipitation
5. Use of gloves
6. Knowledge of chemicals that will remove the
nitrates
7. Washing of hands
In cases involving shooting incidents where
paraffin test is required, the person suspected
to have fired a gun should be subjected to
diphenylamine-paraffin test immediately and
in no case should it be postponed seventy-two
(72) hours after shooting. It is possible to
detect nitrates as late as three days even though
the hands have been washed. In our country
the period is reduced to two days only due to
excessive perspiration.
 II. DETERMINATION OF THE PROBABLE GUNSHOT
RANGE OR THE DISTANCE OF THE FIREARM WAS
HELD FROM THE BODY OF THE VICTIM AT THE
TIME OF DISCHARGED

 The clothing of the victim with bullet perforation should

be submitted for possible gunshot range.
Three Zones of Distance:
a. Those in which the muzzle of the gun was held
directly in contact with the body or practically so.
(CONTACT WOUNDS).
b. Those in which the muzzle of the gun was held from
about 2 inches to 36 inches away.
c. Those in which the muzzle of the gun was held from
36 inches or more.
CONTACT WOUNDS – Damage (on cloth) is
due more to the flame and the muzzle blast than
to the penetration of the bullet.
a. Gaping hole where fabric is badly torn,
b. Blackened area surrounding the bullet
hole,
c. Singeing of the fibers at the entrance, and
d. Presence of partially burned powder
residues around the entrance hole.
Distance from which the Characteristic Pattern
firearm was discharge

0 to 2 inches Gaping hole, smudging,

singeing, tattooing and
burning
2 inches to 8 inches Smudging
8 inches to 36 inches Tattooing
Beyond 36 inches Evidence of powder
tattooing is seldom present
 DETERMINATION OF THE PROBABLE TIME
THE GUN HAS BEEN FIRED
 RUST
 formation of rust inside the barrel after a gun has
been fired is a good indication for the determination
of the approximate time the gun has been fired.
 if a gun has not been fired at all, no rust can be
detected inside the barrel of the gun.
 if a gun has been fired, iron salts are formed and are
found inside the barrel. This iron salts are soon
oxidized resulting in the formation of rust.
 Presence of nitrite (NO2) – firearms could have been
fired recently - BLUE
 Presence of nitrate (NO3) – firearms could have been
fired but not recently - YELLOW GREEN