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Applying Microscopy in Forensic Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Henry C. Lee
Henry C. Lee*
Affiliation:
Connecticut State Police Forensic Laboratory, Meriden, CT., 06484
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Extract

Microscopy is of vital importance in the real world of the forensic scientist. In today's society, physical evidence is critical to the criminal justice system for the detection, investigation and prosecution of criminal acts. A trail of microscopic fibers led investigators in Atlanta to the conviction of the serial killer, Wayne Williams. Flecks of paint on a hit-run victim, analyzed microscopically, can be compared with the paint on a suspect vehicle to exclude or match it to the crime. The forensic firearms examiner compares the microscopic striations on a bullet to match it to the gun it was fired from. Microscopes are used throughout the modern forensic laboratory. They are essential in searching for evidence. They aid the examiner in identifying and comparing trace evidence. As the scales of justice symbolize forensic science, microscopes symbolize the trace evidence examiner.

Because of the variety of physical evidence, forensic scientists use several types of microscopes in their investigations.

Type
Microscopy and Microanalysis in the “Real World”
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 4 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '98, Microscopy Society of America 56th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 32nd Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia July 12-16, 1998 , July 1998 , pp. 490 - 491
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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