This Royal Society of Chemistry Public lecture will describe some of the applications of Chemistry in Forensic Science. The following topics will be covered:
• Investigation of fires, with the aim of determining if they were set deliberately (arson), or accidentally. This will include a discussion of the thermodynamics of combustion, and how an understanding of this can reduce the occurrence of accidental fires.
• Investigation of shooting incidents, including how an understanding of ballistics can help with the reconstruction of such incidents, and whether a particular weapon was used.
• Digital Forensics investigations – not directly chemistry related, but I will describe the current state of the field in terms of retrieving data from computers, tablets and mobile phones.
• Investigation of fires, with the aim of determining if they were set deliberately (arson), or accidentally. This will include a discussion of the thermodynamics of combustion, and how an understanding of this can reduce the occurrence of accidental fires.
• Investigation of shooting incidents, including how an understanding of ballistics can help with the reconstruction of such incidents, and whether a particular weapon was used.
• Digital Forensics investigations – not directly chemistry related, but I will describe the current state of the field in terms of retrieving data from computers, tablets and mobile phones.
