The Grimm glow discharge lamp (GDL) is used for the direct spectrochemical determination of the major and minor elements in solid geological materials and related non-conducting matrices that vary widely in mineralogical, chemical and textural properties. A study of the sputtered surfaces using a scanning electron microscope indicates that material transport is non-thermal. As a result, glow discharge lamp (GDL-AES) atomic emission spectrometry is essentially free from the influence of the physical and chemical composition of the sample. As a consequence, major and minor elements can be determined with accuracy and precision, thus substantiating the validity of Grimm GDL-AES for the analysis of non-conducting materials.
Ammunition having mercury fulminate-based primers are commonly manufactured by Eastern Bloc countries and used extensively in the Middle East. Gunshot residue (GSR) particles formed by firing these types of ammunition were examined. It was observed that much lower percentage of mercury-containing GSR particles were found in samples taken from a shooter as compared to the percentage of such particles in samples from cartridge cases. This fact must therefore be taken into account when interpreting case results. A plausible explanation for the results described is proposed.
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