What is Polarized Light Microscopy?
Perhaps the most versatile of all microscopes is the polarized light microscope. This instrument allows the analyst to actually see and manipulate the sample of interest, even though this sample may consist of particles only a few micrometers in diameter. In many cases, the experienced microscopist can identify particles based on their appearance alone, as in this image of a household dust showing paper and garment fibers, fiberglass and fungal material. Measurement of optical properties of the sample can provide a unique identification for thousands of compounds. Refractive indices, birefringence, and dispersion can all be quantitatively determined. The sample can be poked and prodded, and submitted to the entire battery of qualitative chemical tests available to the analytical chemist, but at the microscale, with the results observed through the microscope.
