Unbranded Trinocular Microscope (SN 0201623)

This microscope is a polarizing or petrographic microscope designed for specialized medical and industrial applications such as identifying crystals or minerals in core samples. The microscope employs two polarizing filters in the light path. One is called the polarizer and the other an analyzer. By "crossing" the filters, one can examine birefringent specimens such as calcite and quartz..

The polarizing microscope is especially useful in the study of birefringent materials and is ideally used for chemical microscopy and optical mineralogy. Birefringence is also known as double refraction, or when light traveling through a substance (such as calcite) splits into two beams and travels in two different speeds. The polarizing microscope can be used in a variety of scientific studies, in addition to ore analysis.

These include geology, mineralogy, toxicology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, medicine, forensics, the pulp and paper industry, studying atmospheric pollution, asbestos fiber evaluation and assessing ceramics.