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These illumination techniques are most commonly used on birefringent or transparent samples where the polarized light interacts strongly with the sample, generating contrast with the background. Polarized light microscopy is used extensively in optical mineralogy. | These illumination techniques are most commonly used on birefringent or transparent samples where the polarized light interacts strongly with the sample, generating contrast with the background. Polarized light microscopy is used extensively in optical mineralogy. | ||
Polarized light microscopy is capable of providing information on absorption color and optical path boundaries between minerals of differing refractive indices. Furthermore, the contrast-enhancing technique exploits the optical properties specific to anisotropy and reveals detailed information concerning the structure and composition of materials. | |||
You can modify your light microscopy by adding a ''polarizer'', positioned before the specimen, and an ''analyzer'' placed between the objective and the observation tubes. | You can modify your light microscopy by adding a ''polarizer'', positioned before the specimen, and an ''analyzer'' placed between the objective and the observation tubes. | ||