Know-More

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.7: Criminalistics and Forensic Physics

MODULE No.24: Soil and Paint Analysis
 Weblinks

 http://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/forensic-soil-analysis
 https://sites.google.com/site/apchemprojectforensicchemistry/techniques-and-
technology/soil-analysis
 https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-
communications/fsc/july1999/painta.htm
 http://www.astm.org/FULL_TEXT/E1610/HTML/E1610.htm
 http://www.santoshraut.com/forensic/physics.htm
 https://online.science.psu.edu/sites/default/files/frnsc200/7._chapter_19_soil_and
_paint_as_evidence.pdf

Suggested Readings

 Crime Scene Forensics: A Scientific Method Approach

By Robert C Shaler

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.7: Criminalistics and Forensic Physics

MODULE No.24: Soil and Paint Analysis
  Fundamentals of Forensic Science
By Max M. Houck, Jay A. Siegel

Did You Know?

 The forensic technique commonly used for the analysis of soil samples is the density
gradient tube technique.
 The geographical location of soil samples gives rise to variation in their elemental
composition.
 About a tablespoon of soil should be enough for most modern tests.
 Electron microscopes can be used to reveal the crystalline structures of minerals and
synthetic material in a sample of soil.
 Paint films are characterized by a number of physical and chemical features.
 Smeared transfers can exhibit mingling of components from several layers or films
that could preclude application of some of the analytical methods.

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.7: Criminalistics and Forensic Physics

MODULE No.24: Soil and Paint Analysis
 Glossary

 Additive (modifier): Any substance added in a small quantity to improve properties.

Additives may include substances such as driers, corrosion inhibitors, catalysts,
ultraviolet absorbers, and plasticizers.
B

 Binder: A nonvolatile portion of the liquid vehicle of a coating, which serves to bind
or cement the pigment particles together.
C

 Coating: A generic term for paint, lacquer, enamel, or other liquid or liquefiable
material that is converted to a solid, protective, or decorative film or a combination
of these types of films after application.
D
 Density Gradient Tube: Equipment used for measuring the distribution of different
particles in a soil sample by establishing the point at which they are suspended in a
tube filled with layers of liquid of different densities.

 Density Test: A test in which glass fragments are floated to establish if they are
from the same source.

 Discriminate: To distinguish between two samples on the basis of significant

differences; to differentiate.

 Discriminating Power: The ability of an analytical procedure to distinguish between

two items of different origin.
K
 Known Sample: A coating sample of established origin.

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.7: Criminalistics and Forensic Physics

MODULE No.24: Soil and Paint Analysis
 P
 Paint: Commonly known as a pigmented coating.

 Pigment: A finely ground, inorganic or organic, insoluble, and dispersed particle.

Besides color, a pigment may provide many of the essential properties of paint such
as opacity, hardness, durability, and corrosion resistance. The term pigment includes
extenders.
Q
 Questioned Sample: A coating sample whose original source is unknown.

 Significant Difference: A difference between two samples that indicates that the
two samples do not have a common origin.

 Solvents - liquids, usually petroleum based, that can dissolve solids and keep them in
solution.

 Trace Evidence: Minute pieces of evidence found at the crime scene, including fibre,
hair, glass, seed, and soil.

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.7: Criminalistics and Forensic Physics

MODULE No.24: Soil and Paint Analysis