NCJ Number
57774
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1977) Pages: 680-696
Date Published
1977
Length
17 pages
Annotation
THE MANY USES OF LUMINESCENCE (THE EMISSION FROM A SAMPLE OF RADIATION THAT FALLS IN THE NEAR ULTRAVIOLET, VISIBLE, OR INFRARED REGIONS) FOR THE FORENSIC SCIENTIST ARE EXPLORED.
Abstract
A COMMON USE IS IN DETECTOR POWDERS TO IDENTIFY THIEVES BY TAGGING AN OBJECT (I.E., A HANDBAG AND ITS CONTENTS) WITH A FLUORESCENT POWDER THAT ABSORBS IN THE ULTRAVIOLET AND FLUORESCES IN THE BLUE OR GREEN REGIONS AND THEN EXAMINING THE HANDS OF THE SUSPECT UNDER AN ULTRAVIOLET LAMP. FLUORESENCE CAN ALSO BE USED TO ESTABLISH THE AUTHENTICITY OF A GEMSTONE SINCE MANY SYNTHETIC GEMS FLUORESCE. MANY DRUGS HAVE LUMINESCENT PROPERTIES WHICH PROVIDE THE FORENSIC SCIENTIST WITH A UNIQUE METHOD WHEREBY UNEQUIVOCAL EVIDENCE CAN RESULT. DRUGS UNDER STUDY CAN BE IN BOTH SOLID AND LIQUID SAMPLES AND INCLUDE PHENYLETHYLAMINES, MORPHINE AND ITS DERIVITIVES, CANNABIS, TRANQUILIZERS, AND BARBITURATES. LUMINESCENCE CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL IN CONTACT MATERIAL CLASSIFICATION, QUESTIONED DOCUMENT ANALYSIS, ANALYSIS OF GUNSHOT RESIDUES, AND VISUALIZATION OF FINGERPRINTS. FINALLY, SECTIONS ON LUMINESCENCE TECHNIQUES AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD ARE INCLUDED. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS TO IMPROVE THE SENSITIVITY OF EXISTING LUMINSCENCE SPECTROMETERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED METHODS OF LUMINESCENCE ANALYSES ARE RECOMMENDED. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS APPENDED, AND GRAPHS AND TABLES ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)