All new hands-on demonstrations and fictional minute mysteries illustrate chemical concepts as the authors present the science--and the realities--of forensic chemistry in a narrative style that makes this timely topic accessible to the nonchemist.

Papers from a symposium "Chemistry in Crime--Fact and Fiction"

An exploration of poison's transformation into chemical crime during the nineteenth century and the impact on crime fiction and Victorian perceptions of science.

The Science of Crime Scenes, Second Edition offers a science-based approach to crime scenes, emphasizing that understanding is more important than simply knowing. Without sacrificing technical details, the book adds significantly to the philosophy and theory of crime scene science. This new edition addresses the science behind the scenes and demonstrates the latest methods and technologies with updated figures and images. It covers the philosophy of the crime scene, the personnel involved at a scene (including the media), the detection of criminal traces and their reconstruction, and special crime scenes, such as mass disasters and terroristic events. Written by an international trio of authors with decades of crime scene experience, this book is the next generation of crime scene textbooks. This volume will serve both as a textbook for forensic programs, and as an excellent reference for forensic practitioners and crime scene technicians with science backgrounds. - Includes in-depth coverage of disasters and mass murder, terror crime scenes and CBRN (Chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear) – topics not covered in any other text - Includes an instructor site with lecture slides, images and links to resources for teaching and training

This sequel to the best-selling Chemistry and Crime presents the development of major forensic methods and their basis in academic science. It covers forensic disciplines and techniques such as detection of arsenic, forensic toxicology, dust analysis, examination of arson evidence, and DNA typing. It also illustrates the use of forensic science testimony for courtroom cases and provides a history of DNA applications by one of the leading practitioners, David H. Bing. A review of the field by the late Ralph Turner provides an historical perspective of forensic science. The book also includes an entertaining discussion of forensic science in detective fiction by S.M. Gerber.

Chemistry/Forensic Science Forensic chemistry is a subdiscipline of forensic science, its principles guide the analyses performed in modern forensic laboratories. Forensic chemistry’s roots lie in medico-legal investigation, toxicology and microscopy and have since led the development of modern forensic analytic techniques and practices for use in a variety of applications. Introduction to Forensic Chemistry is the perfect balance of testing methods and application. Unlike other competing books on the market, coverage is neither too simplistic, nor overly advanced making the book ideal for use in both undergraduate and graduate courses. The book introduces chemical tests, spectroscopy, advanced spectroscopy, and chromatography to students. The second half of the book addresses applications and methods to analyze and interpret controlled substances, trace evidence, questioned documents, firearms, explosives, environmental contaminants, toxins, and other topics. The book looks at innovations in the field over time including the latest development of new discernible chemical reactions, instrumental tools, methods, and more. Key features: Nearly 300 full-color figures illustrating key concepts and over 20 case studies Addresses all the essential topics without extraneous or overly advanced coverage Includes full pedagogy of chapter objectives, key terms, lab problems, end of chapter questions, and additional readings to emphasize key learning points Includes chemical structures and useful spectra as examples Fulfils the forensic chemistry course requirement in FEPAC-accredited programs Includes a chapter on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) materials Comprehensive and accessible, without being overly technical, Introduction to Forensic Chemistry will be a welcome addition to the field and an ideal text designed for both the student user and professor in mind. Course ancillaries including an Instructor’s Manual with Test Bank and chapter PowerPoint® lecture slides are available with qualified course adoption.

A concise, robust introduction to the various topics covered by the discipline of forensic chemistry The Forensic Chemistry Handbook focuses on topics in each of the major chemistry-related areas of forensic science. With chapter authors that span the forensic chemistry field, this book exposes readers to the state of the art on subjects such as serology (including blood, semen, and saliva), DNA/molecular biology, explosives and ballistics, toxicology, pharmacology, instrumental analysis, arson investigation, and various other types of chemical residue analysis. In addition, the Forensic Chemistry Handbook: Covers forensic chemistry in a clear, concise, and authoritative way Brings together in one volume the key topics in forensics where chemistry plays an important role, such as blood analysis, drug analysis, urine analysis, and DNA analysis Explains how to use analytical instruments to analyze crime scene evidence Contains numerous charts, illustrations, graphs, and tables to give quick access to pertinent information Media focus on high-profile trials like those of Scott Peterson or Kobe Bryant have peaked a growing interest in the fascinating subject of forensic chemistry. For those readers who want to understand the mechanisms of reactions used in laboratories to piece together crime scenes—and to fully grasp the chemistry behind it—this book is a must-have.

The book looks at 10 toxic molecules and discusses their chemistry and effects in humans, followed by a re-examination of their deliberate misuse in high profile murder cases.

Draws upon students' interest in and enthusiasm for solving mysteries to convey important scientific concepts, methods, and techniques.

Representations of forensic procedures saturate popular culture in both fiction and true crime. One of the most striking forensic tools used in these narratives is the chemical luminol, so named because it glows an eerie greenish-blue when it comes into contact with the tiniest drops of human blood.Luminol is a deeply ambivalent object: it is both a tool of the police, historically abused and misappropriated, and yet it offers hope to families of victims by allowing hidden crimes to surface. Forensic enquiry can exonerate those falsely accused of crimes, and yet the rise of forensic science is synonymous with the development of the deeply racist 'science' of eugenics.Luminol Theory investigates the possibility of using a tool of the state in subversive, or radical, ways. By introducing luminol as an agent of forensic inquiry, Luminol Theory approaches the exploratory stages that a crime scene investigation might take, exploring experimental literature as though these texts were 'crime scenes' in order to discover what this deeply strange object can tell us about crime, death, and history, to make visible violent crimes, and to offer a tangible encounter with death and finitude. At the luminol-drenched crime scene, flashes of illumination throw up words, sentences, and fragments that offer luminous, strange glimpses, bobbing up from below their polished surfaces. When luminol shines its light, it reveals, it is magical, it is prescient, and it has a nasty allure.TABLE OF CONTENTS // Preface: Christmas, Colorado, 1996 - Section I. Queer Light: Forensics, Psychoanalysis, Hermeneutics - Section II. The Abject Parlour: Polyester Gothic, Traces at the Scene, Christmas in Colorado - Section III. Deadly Landscapes: The Shining, Colorado Histories, The Locus Terriblis - Conclusion: Necrolight, Luminol