What is Forensic Science?

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:46:53 +0000

Forensic science has a very high profile on TV and across the media in general. This profile includes both real world references to forensic science in such programs as The First 48, and fictional references to forensic science most notably in shows such as CSI, CSI Miami etc.

However, despite this very high profile, the question “What is Forensic Science” is an extremely common search engine phrase (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask etc).

What this shows, I think it’s fair to say, is that many people have a general idea of what forensic science is but they would struggle to come up with a definitive definition. The following information is presented with this very much in mind.

Forensic

From the Latin ‘Forensis’, meaning forum, specifically the Imperial Court of Rome.

Science

The systematic formulation of knowledge based on observation, experiment & induction. Science is organized knowledge (Immanuel Kant).

Forensic Science

Forensic science is really just science used in court
(Allan Jamieson, Director of the Forensic Institute, Edinburgh, UK)

Any science, used for the purposes of the law, is a forensic science. (American Academy of Forensic Sciences)

In essence then, forensic science is the application of scientific knowledge in a legal context.

Sources of Scientific Knowledge

There are many sources of scientific knowledge applied in a legal context. These Include:

Chemistry Pathology Toxicology Dentistry Anthropology EngineeringThe Forensic Scientist

By definition, a person who applies scientific knowledge in a legal context is a forensic scientist.

If you would like to find out more about the fascinating world of forensic science, you can do so by visiting the website http://www.all-about-forensic-science.com

By: David A Webb

Homemade Electric Car for Science Project

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:57:28 +0000

The buzz about alternative energy and Electric Vehicle (EV) has revived the last few years because of the clear threat that global warming has become. But for hobbyists and innovators, and lovers of life and earth, electric cars have been the gold standard for quite sometime now. Even more so after losing hope in Detroit, which actually recalled perfectly working and sold out versions of its EV and destroyed it for no apparent reason in the early 90s, even more so. It makes good sense too. The earliest cars were EVs and the managed to make motor vehicle history. Their time was up for no good reason when automakers decided to make cars with the internal combustion engines that require fossil fuel, a limited source of energy.

Everything from old Ford Taurus to Opel GT and even full scale trucks has gone electric or hybrid thanks to your owners. You can rest assure though that it takes a lot of time and energy to get it done, but surprisingly not a lot of money. In fact, for what you save on gas after your little science project, the cost of the whole thing will seem negligible. You might want to consider taking help from a friend who lives and breathes engines or a local mechanic if you yourself are a novice, despite your enthusiasm. Just keep in mind that the basic to making your car hybrid is packing it with a load of 12volts car batteries and figuring out a way of using smaller engines that powers it up enough to keep you rolling. And you better have clear diagram on where your wire are headed. But there is more to it than meets the eye. To get a clear idea of what you are doing, you might even want to read up on plans for restructuring your car. Websites such as MotherEarthShopping.com offers them online too. Or you could just Google “hybrid car plan” or “DIY hybrid car” to find other online sources.

But if you don’ want to jump directly into gutting your car’ engines, there’ a perfectly rational and satisfying thing you can do: get yourself a DIY electric car building kit. Not only will this give you a great sense of creation satisfaction, it will also help you better understand how electric cars work. Companies like the Robert Q. Riely Enterprise offers a great range of high end DIY kits which allow you to actually make everything from scratch, but with full detailed instructions. You even have your choice of two or four wheelers that you can take for a real spin around and beyond your neighborhood.

They make for fun and interesting science projects that will serve a real purpose once completed.

By: George Christodoulou

Science research » Google

What is Forensic Science?

Homemade Electric Car for Science Project