FORENSIC CHEMISTRY & TOXICOLOGY

GLASS FRAGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
• Value of glass fragments as evidence is not always fully recognized.
• May be a crucial evidence in cases of burglaries, murders, hit & run, etc.
• Glass evidence may come from windows, automobile glass, broken bottles.
• A person standing in close proximity to glass when it is broken may pick up fragments of the
broken glass.
• Clothing of burglary suspects, in cases where windows have been broken, will often retain
microscopic glass fragments.
• Hit & Run Incidents:
Headlights
Windshield glass
• Scene of the accident and the clothing of the victim can be expected to be sources of glass
fragments.

SOME QUESTIONS FOR INVESTIGATION

a. Did the window break from inside or outside?
b. Determine which of the two holes in a window was made first/
c. Was the hole on the window caused by stone, bullet, or some other forces?

GLASS
Germanic word “glesum” – transparent, lustrous substance
Definitions:
• (technical) An inorganic product of the fusion which has been cooled to a rigid condition
without crystallizing.
• (scientific) Often extended to all amorphous solids, including plastics, resins, or other silica-free
amorphous solids.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GLASS
• Hard-non crystalline material
• Usually clear and transparent
• Glass state or vitreous state
• Atoms arranged at random
• Fluid at high temperature
• Super cooled liquid

COMPARISON BETWEEN ATOMS OF CRYSTAL AND GLASS

COMPOSITION OF GLASS
 1. Pure Silica (SiO2)
− Sand
− Most important composition
− “Glass melting point” – 1,723°C
2. Sodium Carbonate (NaCO3)
− Lowers melting point to about 1500°C in “Soda-Lime Glass”
− “Soda” – original source of Sodium Carbonate in the soda ash obtained from certain
plants.
− Soda makes the glass water soluble
3. Lime (Calcium Oxide)
− Obtained from limestone
− MgO and Al2O3 are added to provide for a better chemical durability
− Resulting glass: Contains about 70 – 74% Silica by weight
− Called “soda-lime glass” (most of manufactured glass)
4. Lead
− Lead glass, such as lead crystal or flint glass, is more brilliant because of increased
refractive index
− “Sparkles”
5. Boron
− May be added to change the thermal and electrical properties.
− Resistant to thermal shock
− E.g. Pyrex
6. Barium
− Also increases the refractive index
7. Thorium Oxide
− Gives glass high refractive index and low dispersion
− Formerly used as in producing high-quality lenses but stopped due to its radioactivity
8. Lanthanum Oxide
− Used for modern eye glasses
9. Cerium (IV) Oxide
− Can be used for glass that absorbs UV wavelengths

PRIMARY GLASS TYPES

1. Soda-Lime Silica Glass
▪ Most common type of glass being used for flat glass, bottles, containers, light bulbs .
▪ Most often encountered in the forensic laboratory.
2. Colored Glasses
▪ Usually produced by the addition of metallic oxides to soda-lime silica

COLOR ELEMENTS
Green Cr, Fe
Blue Cu, Co
Red Cu, Se
Purple Mn
Brown Fe, S
Ruby Colloidal Gold
Yellow U, Ce
3. Decolorized glass
▪ General term describing most soda-lime glasses marketed as clear glass.
 ▪ Decolorizing involves the destruction of carbonaceous matter and oxidation
4. Borosilicate Glass
▪ Any glass having a substantial amount of Boron in formula.
▪ Used where low thermal expansion and greater resistance to acid corrosion are needed.
5. Aluminosilicate Glass
▪ Contains high percentage of Al2O3
▪ Has a higher service temperature than borosilicate glasses.
▪ Especially resistant to alkalis
6. Lead Alkali Silicate Glass
▪ May contain up to 80% PbO and have relatively low softening temperature.
▪ High refractive index and dispersion
▪ Ability to pass out certain wavelengths of energy.
▪ Useful for crystal table wares, consumer jewelry, chandeliers
7. Silica Glass
▪ Made from molten quartz without other constituents.
▪ Extremely low thermal expansion, high service temperatures and transparency to a wide
range of wavelengths of light
▪ Rarely encountered in forensic work
8. Light Sensitive Eyeglasses Lenses
▪ Contains colloidal particles of Silver Halide.
▪ Lenses or portions may be identified in the laboratory by exposing them to UV light.
9. Slag Wool and Rock Wool
▪ Made directly from molten furnace slag and from molten rocks

ANALYSIS OF GLASS
1. Spectrographic Analysis
o Instrumental method of analysis which determines the presence of trace
elements/composition
o Rapid examination and an adequate method for glass analysis
o Require only a small amount of sample
2. Physical Examination
o Comparison
o Piercing together irregular edges of broken glass and matching all irregularities and
situations on the broken surfaces.
o Appearance
o Type of glass
o Physical measurement – Edge and Curvature
3. Physical Matching
o Most conclusive since no two fractures will ever be identical over any appreciable length.
o A complementary lateral fit along the broken edges over a length of ¼ inch or more
establishes that the two glass fragments were continuous before breakage.
o “Jigsaw”

4. Fluorescence under UV Light

o Some types of glass fluorescence under UV light with different colors which may be brown,
violet, purple, blue or green
 o Has to be conducted in a dark room
o Glass pieces to be exposed to UV radiation should be of similar size and thickness and they
are to be thoroughly washed to remove any grease or dirt.
o When there is a clear difference in the fluorescence of the two glasses, it indicates different
sources of their origin.
5. Flotation
o Finding density of glass.
o An unknown glass fragment is immersed in a liquid of known density.
o Density of the liquid is carefully adjusted until the glass chip floats
o When the glass chip floats, it has the same density as the liquid.
o Why measure the Density of Glass?
− Can be used as a screening technique with large numbers of fragments.
− Useful in identifying multiple sources present in the known or questioned samples.
− Non-destructive method
− Needs to be measured precisely
o Comparison using Density Gradient Column
− Glass tube is filled with liquids of different densities (Bromoform and Bromobenzene)
− Glass is added and will sink to the portion of the tube that has a density of equal
volume and remain there suspended.
− The density distribution pattern of glass particles can be obtained and compared to
other specimens with the same method.
6. Refractive Index (Becke Line Method)
o Refractive Index – ratio of the velocity of
light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in
any other medium
o Refractive index of glass varies with small
changes in composition or by how it is
manufactured.
o Becke Line – the minimum contrast
between the glass and the liquid medium.
– bright halo that is observed
near the border of the particle that is
immersed in a liquid of different refractive
indices.

Why Measure the REFRACTIVE INDEX?

• An Intensive Property
• Can be measured accurately
• Does not destroy the sample
 •Refractive index of glass varies with small changes in composition or how glass is
manufactured.
7. Immersion
o Immersing a glass particle in a liquid medium (silicone oil) whose refractive index can be
varied with temperature until it is equal to that of the glass particle.
o “Match Point” – the Becke line disappears and minimum contrast between liquid and
particle is observed
o Uses the Hot Stage Microscope

GLASS FRACTURES
• Glass is elastic.
• When a force is applied to the amorphous glass structure, it spreads out as much as possible
over the surface.
• When a force is exerted on a pane of glass, it stretches. If the force is not too high, the glass will
then return to its original state and no damage occurs.
• If the force exceeds the glass’s elasticity, the glass fractures.
• Patterns of glass fractures can tell about the force magnitude, direction, and glass type.

CAUSES OF FRACTURES
1. Heat
− (e.g. In cases of Fire)
− No definite pattern of radial and concentric
fractures
− Wavy
− Very little stress lines
− Due to thermal shock
2. Mechanical
- Shows definite pattern of radial and concentric fractures

DETERMINING DIRECTION OF IMPACT THROUGH HOLE FRACTURES

A. Projectile Piercing Straight Through The Glass
▪ Hole made by the projectile would be wider on the exit side.
▪ A bullet makes a clear cut hole in the side of the entrance than
on the exit side.
 ▪ Depression will be produced on the exit side due to rebound of glass.

BEVELING OUT OF BULLET

B. Projectile Piercing Through The Glass At An Angle

• Angle of bullet that pierces the glass can help identify the position of the shooter.
• If the bullet came at an acute angle from the left, glass fragments will be sprayed to the
right and the exit hole will be an irregular oval.
• If the bullet came at an acute angle from the right, glass fragments will be sprayed to the
left and the exit hole will be an irregular oval.
• Works best when the hole is made by a high-speed projectile.
• Not meaningful if hole is made by a low-speed projectile.

DETERMINING DIRECTION OF FORCE THROUGH GLASS FRACTURES PATTERNS

A. RADIAL FRACTURES
▪ Primary fractures
▪ Resembles the spokes of a wheel
▪ Radiating outward from the point of impact.
▪ Will form on the opposite side of the glass from which the force was applied
B. CONCENTRIC FRACTURES
 ▪ Secondary fractures or Tangential Cracks
▪ Circles around the point of impact
▪ Connecting to one radiating crack to others
▪ Spider-web appearance
▪ Forms triangular pieces
▪ Form on the same side of the glass where the force is applied

RADIAL

CONCENTRIC
C. RIB MARKS FRACTURES
(SECONDARY
▪ “Stress marks”
FRACTURES)
▪ Set of curved lines on the EDGES of broken pieces of glass

RIB MARKS IN RADIAL CRACKS

• Rib marks will be nearly perpendicular to opposite side of the force (exit side) and
nearly parallel to the side where the force was applied (entrance side).

RIB MARKS IN CONCENTRIC CRACKS

• Rib marks will be nearly perpendicular to the side where the force was applied
(entrance side) and nearly parallel to the opposite side of the force (exit side).

3 ‘R’ Rule
➢ Radial cracks (give rib marks, which make)
➢ Right angles on the
➢ Reverse side from where the force was applied
**Exception: Tempered Glasses (“dices”)

ORDER OF IMPACT/SHOTS FOR MULTIPLE HOLE FRACTURE

PATTERNS
• Determining sequence of multiple penetrations of glass
by tracing the migration patterns out to points of termination where the crack ends in another
crack.
• A fracture always terminates at an existing fracture.
• Existing fractures from the first impact act as barriers to fractures created by the second
impact.
Hole B was made first before the formation of Hole A

PRACTICE
Example 1

1 2

Example 2

2
3
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