FIBER ANALYSIS

WITHOUT FIBER, CASES COULD NOT BE LINKED TOGETHER.

• For example, there was a case in Ohio that was only linked by the fibers found.
• Without them, there would be nothing to link them together

FIBER GATHERING

• Gathered with tweezers, tape, or a vacuum
• They come from clothing, drapery, wigs, carpeting, furniture, and blankets
• Determined to be natural, manufactured, or a mix of both

NATURAL FIBERS

• Come from plants (cotton) or animals (wool)

MANUFACTURED FIBERS

• Synthetics like rayon, acetate, and polyester
• Made from long chains of molecules called polymers

SPECTROMETER

• Separates light into component wavelengths
• the specific wavelengths that are selectively absorbed into the substance are characteristic of its component molecules

MICRO-SPECTROPHOTOMETER

• locates minute traces or shows how light interacts with the material under analysis
• both a magnified visual and an infrared pattern at the same time, which increases the number of identifying characteristics of any given material.

Compare Color and Diameter

• further analyzed with chromatography, which uses solvents to separate the dye's chemical constituents
• the analyst looks for lengthwise striations or pits on a fiber's surface

Cross transfers

• person-to-person contact
• investigators hope that fiber traceable back to the offender can be found at the crime scene

fibers are not unique

• cannot pinpoint an offender in any definitive manner