Before the popularity of crime lab shows, like CSI and Law and Order, it was not very fashionable to be a forensic geek. All it took was the sheer power of Hollywood and Jerry Bruckheimer to make the lowly lab tech into a glamorous profession. There was a day being the cop was where the cultural respect went. Then came Quincy and it all started to go to pot. This is not to diminish what real lab technicians and scientists do, but I suppose were a bit programmed to think whats on TV is whats acceptable.
But I digress. Anyway, the forensics we see on TV is not really what happens in the lab. What happens with forensics is heavily based, I think, on a process called chromatography. See, that doesnt sound so sexy, does it? Its like most scientific things " they dont sound very appealing unless its David Caruso saying it in a raspy voice. And, I suppose its not really whats said but how its said. He could say the cause of death was blunt trauma from a bologna sausage and wed all nod and creep closer to he screen.
After a cursory glance on Google and Wikipedia, it looks like theres a lot of chromatographies. I know thats a misspelled word, but there is gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography " there are more chromatographies than you shake a stick at. What the process allows for, essentially, is the precise separation of complex chemical mixtures using a color-coded matrix. How about them apples?
That means, in layman's terms, that the process associates a specific color with a specific chemical compound. Say, for this example, that the chemicals in lipstick turn the chromatographic paper blue. You take a swab of the poor victim from Central Casting and lo and behold, David Caruso gets to say something like this: The evidence is consistent with the presence of cosmetic ingredients. Presto: Hollywood magic.
And so the show must go on and we all, despite our better judgment, go on believing that lab techs are hip and cool and that David Caruso is a good actor. Ok, ok, I know, that was a cheap shot. Still, its a good lesson on how we perceive things the way the culture wants us to. If Hollywood says lab techs are cool " by Jove, theyre cool! How about Hollywood makes a series about busboys or security guards. Wait, I think they already may have. Does Christian Slaters Untamed heart count? - 15437
But I digress. Anyway, the forensics we see on TV is not really what happens in the lab. What happens with forensics is heavily based, I think, on a process called chromatography. See, that doesnt sound so sexy, does it? Its like most scientific things " they dont sound very appealing unless its David Caruso saying it in a raspy voice. And, I suppose its not really whats said but how its said. He could say the cause of death was blunt trauma from a bologna sausage and wed all nod and creep closer to he screen.
After a cursory glance on Google and Wikipedia, it looks like theres a lot of chromatographies. I know thats a misspelled word, but there is gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography " there are more chromatographies than you shake a stick at. What the process allows for, essentially, is the precise separation of complex chemical mixtures using a color-coded matrix. How about them apples?
That means, in layman's terms, that the process associates a specific color with a specific chemical compound. Say, for this example, that the chemicals in lipstick turn the chromatographic paper blue. You take a swab of the poor victim from Central Casting and lo and behold, David Caruso gets to say something like this: The evidence is consistent with the presence of cosmetic ingredients. Presto: Hollywood magic.
And so the show must go on and we all, despite our better judgment, go on believing that lab techs are hip and cool and that David Caruso is a good actor. Ok, ok, I know, that was a cheap shot. Still, its a good lesson on how we perceive things the way the culture wants us to. If Hollywood says lab techs are cool " by Jove, theyre cool! How about Hollywood makes a series about busboys or security guards. Wait, I think they already may have. Does Christian Slaters Untamed heart count? - 15437
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So, if you're a bit undone by all this Hollywood stuff, simply take a minute and compose yourself. Lower your eyes and practice the following line in your best David Caruso: "The evidence is consistent with the presence of cosmetic ingredients. You're ready for your close-up.
