Gary Nolan

‘Glassings’ and Stabbings – Bottles as Weapons – The Engineering Story

Alumni Relations Office Prize
Best presentation in Science and Engineering

Stabbing is the most common method of committing homicide in the UK. Injuries and assaults related to alcohol consumption are also a growing concern in many countries. In such cases the use of impulsive weapons such as a glass bottle is not uncommon. Following such incidents the forensic pathologist is often faced with the difficult task of offering an approximation of the degree of force involved. This project aims to address this complex issue. Although the dangers associated with the use of broken bottles as weapons is apparent, there is a paucity of information in this area in the current literature. The results of this study provide the first quantitative data of the force required for penetration with broken glass bottles. The results show that glass fractures to provide surfaces with both sharp and blunt facets and that the prediction of a bottles stabbing potential is a complex problem.