The Polarized Light Microscope
Lots of diversified fibers have been applied in the manufacture and production of infrastructure materials. Much more well-known as compared to asbestos are materials in the likes of animal hair, cellulose, fiber glass and nylon. In case the asbestos can be detected it may be there in minute quantities though as provided by the policies and law of the land, asbestos is regarded as potentially harmful if it holds over one percent of asbestos by weight. Laws direct the analysis of materials in public edifices and structures that are being sold or marketed. Huge amounts of money are exhausted in America every year just to examine the building materials for asbestos. There are steps wherein the asbestos contained in the materials utilized to erect a building is determined, how the geologists do such process, or in case the material is positive with asbestos, how much is the asbestos contained therein. Basically the first stage in the procedure of examining the building materials for asbestos is the utilization of the polarized light microscope or asbestos microscope.
The polarized light microscope, which can also be called as asbestos microscope is an essential tool of the geologist. It utilizes the information that majority of the minerals are transluscent, which means that the mineral grain is sufficiently thin that the light will pass through. While working on a polarized light microscope an examiner or an investigator analyzes the light that passes through a given sample and has interrelated with the interior compositions of the mineral grains. Once the light comes into view from the sample it has been changed because of the interrelations inside the mineral grains. Every mineral is distinct in its structure so every mineral has a distinct effect on light when it passes through it. Hence translating the existing light permits a geologist to recognize minerals with high precision.
The polarized light microscope or petrographic microscope is an advanced piece of technology. It permits the operator or the petrologist to maneuver light in certain different manners and view the outcomes subsequent to the interaction of the light with the mineral sample on the stage of the asbestos microscope. In the examination of asbestos the analysts merely utilize a fraction of the capabilities and tools of the polarized light microscope. Such microscope is capable of showing the tiniest fiber inside the asbestos contained material in which the naked eye cannot see. The various colors of the asbestos mineral are also significantly and vividly viewed using the microscope. Such fibers may possibly infiltrate the body by inhaling or swallowing them unconsciously and cause various diseases in the long run, which is very fatal to the health of the individuals.
It is important that the operator familiarizes himself in the various parts of the microscopes as well as in its critical components. The relative position of the different parts of the microscope is vital in comprehending the behavior of light that passes the microscope and the mineral samples. The operator need not spend a lot of time memorizing the various parts. It is advised that through practice and actual usage of it that an operator is able to utilize it at its optimum capacity.
