Forensic Investigation of Explosions, Second Edition

The discrimination of 72 nitrate, chlorate and perchlorate salts using IR and Raman spectroscopy

“…Inorganic oxidizing energetic salts such as nitrates, chlorates and perchlorates, are of great forensic interest due to their usual and major presence in charge compositions of a large number of improvised explosive devices [1][2][3][4]. These salts are commercially accessible (either on their own or as part of the charge of pyrotechnic devices), and, dreadfully, easy "do-it-yourself" recipes to make damaging explosive compositions are freely available [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

Intracochlear pressure measurements during acoustic shock wave exposure

“…Specifically, tympanic membrane rupture is unlikely to occur at ~7 kPa (Cameron et al, 1992), but can be observed as low as 35 kPa (Stewart et al, 2006). TM rupture thresholds are generally defined as the peak pressure at 50% probability of rupture, which varies between 43 kPa (Beveridge, 2011) to ~ 100 kPa (Richmond et al, 1989; Stewart et al, 2006). Investigations of large animals (pigs and sheep) exposed to blast waves inside armored vehicles revealed ~36% of ears were damaged in response to the lowest (41 ± 21 kPa) peak overpressure blasts, whereas 71% were injured in response to the highest (154 ± 66 kPa) blast waves, and higher peak pressures were associated with greater rupture incidence (Phillips et al, 1989).…”

Statistical analysis for explosives detection system test and evaluation

“…Explosives trace detection employs chemical and spectroscopic techniques to screen passengers, baggage, and cargo for extremely small amounts of explosives 1 , 2 . When assessing performance of explosives trace detection systems or similar pass/fail devices, it is critical to utilize experimental data sets of sufficient size in order to effectively determine detection probabilities.…”