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Introducing Physics
Fast Fact
Most crime laboratories do not keep a physicist on staff full time.
Rather than hire a physicist, some laboratories cross-train one of
their criminalists—the people that examine crime scenes and trace
evidence—to handle the analysis of blood spatter and other impor-
tant physical evidence.
Using Physics
to Solve Crimes
Forensic experts must often use their knowledge of physics to help investi-
gators understand what occurred at a crime scene. Physics can be used any
time there is evidence that hinges on understanding how something moved
before, during, or after the commission of a crime. Most often, the way an
object or individual moved through a crime scene is used to reconstruct
what happened. A knowledgeable forensic expert looks at the crime scene
for a number of types of evidence that can provide valuable clues about
the crime.
Cases where a weapon is swung, a bullet flies through the air, or a bomb
explodes are all examples of the sort of attacks in which a knowledge of
physics is useful for investigating the crime. Unfortunately, gun violence is
found all around the world, and the instance of bomb blasts has increased
as international terrorism has grown. A physicist is trained to examine the
