8127/frame/fm

 
C.
Divisible Matter — A New Fundamental Principle 
 
in Forensic Science
As objects exist in our normal physical world, a variety of forces act upon
them. When the input energy resulting from these forces is greater than the
forces holding a piece of matter together, a small piece of the object may
separate from the parent object. This is 
 
fracture
. While there is no specific
physical law defined for this phenomenon, it is important to forensic science.
We therefore suggest that fracture of physical objects is a fundamental prin-
ciple of forensic science, and we name it the principle of 
 
divisible matter
.
This statement leads directly to three corollaries with important conse-
quences to the analysis and interpretation of physical evidence.
 
Corollary 1
: Some characteristics retained by the smaller pieces are
unique to the original item or to the division process. These traits are
useful for individualizing all pieces to the original item.
 
Corollary 2
: Some characteristics retained by the smaller pieces are com-
mon to the original item as well as to other items of similar manu-
facture. We rely on these traits to classify the item.
 
Corollary 3
: Some characteristics of the original item will be lost or
changed during or after the moment of division and subsequent dis-
persal; this confounds the attempt to infer a common source.
In particular, the principle of divisible matter and its logical corollaries have
a profound effect on the forensic process of source determination.
 
Matter divides into smaller component parts when sufficient force is
applied. The component parts will acquire characteristics created by