A STUDY ON THE ROLE OF MICROSCOPY AND SPECTROSCOPY IN MICRO TRACE ANALYSIS
AUTHOR – NIRANJANA DEVI R, LLM (CRIME AND FORENSIC LAW)STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW (SOEL), THE TAMILNADU DR. AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSITY
BEST CITATION – NIRANJANA DEVI R, A STUDY ON THE ROLE OF MICROSCOPY AND SPECTROSCOPY IN MICRO TRACE ANALYSIS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (14) OF 2025, PG. 853-862, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
CHAPTER – 01
1.1. ABSTRACT:
Forensic traces are physical remnants of past events that provide critical information for criminal and civil investigations and adjudications. The scientific examination of traces is an incredibly valuable tool for forensic investigations, because the skilled interpretation of traces yields factual answers to a range of pertinent questions.The combination of microscopy and spectroscopy, or microspectroscopy, is a powerful tool for the study of traces and enables their understanding and interpretation. Microspectroscopy has a plethora of advantages, most notably providing rapid and often non-destructive (or minimally destructive) analysis of a range of specimens, sometimes with little to no sample preparation, and creating a reviewable record of the examination. The chemical identification of traces via microspectroscopy may enable a criminalist to determine provenance, and, depending on the sample, individualize it (that is, successive reductions to a class of one, or the establishment of two items having a common source). Microspectroscopy is not just for small samples. Although most people think of traces as being microscopic, this is not necessarily the case. Traces may be large objects, such as car headlights or baseball bats, that are left behind or removed from the scene after an incident. The objective of this research is to understand the concept of microscopy and spectroscopy in micro trace analysis. The author concludes that spectroscopy and microscopy are two emerging fields and also needs more application in India.