Forensic science is the ultimate inter-disciplinary science; accordingly, the reader will find within terms from biology, chemistry, geology, physics, anthropology, and archaeology, to name a few. With more than 1,800 entries, The Facts On File Dictionary of Forensic Science is designed not only for use in school and public libraries but also can serve as a handy pocket reference for anyone interested in forensic science or working in a related field. Illustrations accompany many of the entries, and cross-referencing will assist the reader in obtaining a quick but complete definition of any term. The Appendices provide useful supplemental information including drawings of the human skeleton and skull as well as an extensive bibliography and list of websites. The The Facts On File Dictionary of Forensic Science is best thought of as a distillation and compilation of the rich forensic literature such as is listed in Appendix I. This volume is not intended as a primary reference in the field, but rather as a pocket guide where readers can find information about forensic terms or concepts they encounter. The entries are, of necessity, brief, and interested readers are encouraged to seek more information, starting with the cited materials in the first appendix. All reasonable efforts have been extended to use current, common, and correct terminology as generally used in the field. Where terms have several potential meanings, definitions most relevant in the forensic arena are emphasized.
[...]... Bertillonage See ANTHROPOMETRY beta radiation A form of radioactive decay that consists of an electron ejected from the nucleus of a radioactive element or isotope The electron originates from a neutron, which is converted to a proton as a result of the loss of the electron beyond a reasonable doubt The legal standard for reaching a decision in a criminal case as to the guilt or innocence of the accused... national certification program for criminalists The ABC administers a General Knowledge Examination alternate light sources (ALS) Lighting provided by something other than a 6 amphetamines the disks between vertebrae, the lens of the eye, and parts of the brain; forensic applications focus on the analysis of the aspartic acid in teeth It is based on a known rate of conversion of amino acids from the. .. on the elution of antibodies that bind to antigens present in the stain absorbance In spectroscopy, a measure of the amount of electromagnetic energy that is absorbed by a given sample The amount of energy absorbed depends on the concentration of the sample, the amount of sample through which the energy travels, and a constant called the molar absorptivity coefficient This coefficient depends on the. .. algor mortis analysis of latent fingerprints Aging can refer either to the age of the print (how long it has been on a surface) or to the age of the person who deposited it (child or adult) is classified as a polysaccharide, or longchained sugar polymer age-at-death estimation Determine of the approximate age of a deceased person The three common methods of determining the age are based on skeletal development... Absorption-inhibition was developed in 1923 in Italy by Vittorio Siracusa, and absorption-elution followed in the 1930s Many modifications and variants have appeared, and the general procedures have been applied to other blood group systems Absorption-inhibition works by reducing the strength of an antiserum on the basis of the type and amount of antigens present in the stain Conversely, absorption-elution is based on. .. used as a preservative, is the most familiar aldehyde These compounds often have strong odors and are responsible for many common fragrances such as those in flowers or perfumes agglutinogen In an agglutination reaction, the antigenic substance In the case of clumping of red blood cells, the antigen on the surface of the cells is the agglutinogen aging of bloodstains Application of analytical chemistry... long bone is recovered and measured, that information can be used, along with a database of previous measurements, to estimate the height of the person American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) A professional society for forensic science established in 1949 with a current membership of approximately 5,000 It is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and publishes the Journal of Forensic Sciences... structure of the sample molecule and the wavelength of the energy This relationship is summarized as Beer’s law: A = εbc where ε is the molar absorptivity, b is the path length, and c is concentration Many absorption spectrum A graph that plots the absorbance of ELECTROMAG(EMR) by a selected material as a function of the wavelength of radiation Although commonly associated NETIC RADIATION 1 accelerant commonly... with the types and position of MINUTIAE ANFO An explosive consisting of ammonium nitrate (AN, 95 percent) and heavy fuel oil (FO, 5 percent) The ammonium nitrate is the oxidant and the oil is the fuel Variations of ANFO explosives were used in the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 anabolic steroids A class of synthetic... cases A question important to the investigation might be, Are these three bags from the same source? One crucial piece of evidence would be the concentration of cocaine in each, so the chemist would take each sample, mix it thoroughly, and draw three replicates, for a total of nine samples, three per bag In this case, the analyst would start with the NULL HYPOTHESIS that the concentrations of the three . The Facts On File DICTIONARY of FORENSIC SCIENCE Suzanne Bell, Ph.D. The Facts On File Dictionary of Forensic Science Copyright © 2004 by Suzanne Bell, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of. information including drawings of the human skeleton and skull as well as an extensive bibliography and list of websites. The The Facts On File Dictionary of Forensic Science is best thought of as. including the disks between vertebrae, the lens of the eye, and parts of the brain; forensic applications focus on the analysis of the aspartic acid in teeth. It is based on a known rate of conversion