Arson Research Paper

Words: 717
Pages: 3

Arson is a terrible crime that annually costs billions of dollars and claims the lives of many people. Scientist use a variety of techniques to determine the accelerants used to start these fires. Arson investigators use several techniques to try piece back together what accelerant may have been used to start the fire.
Generally speaking, fires burn upward and outward from a point of origin. With that being said, if a liquid accelerant has been used to start the fire some of the remaining liquid will have seeped downwards. After a fire investigator traces the fires start point they will then dig down and collect samples from that area. Samples must be kept in an air tight container to limit the chances of evaporation. An example of this type of container is a paint can which has been discussed in class. The samples are then transferred for a laboratory where forensic scientist can use several different techniques to identify the accelerant used in the crime. A very popular technique used is the headspace technique. This method takes a portion of the sample collected at the crime scene which is then placed into a glass jar or empty paint can. The container has a small hole in the lid, the hole is covered with silicon septum. When the container becomes heated any volatile residue present in the debris will be driven off and then
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Gas chromatography involves a sample being vaporized and the put onto the head of the chromatographic column. Once the sample is injected onto a heated column packed, the sample is transported through the column by the flow of inert, gaseous mobile phase. The column contains a liquid stationary phase which is absorbed onto the surface of an inert solid. This packing material is determined by reference to the literature or by the analyst, who tries various materials and determines the best one for use by examining the results of a series of