What is the difference between a polarizing microscope and an optical microscope?
Polarizing microscope is a kind of microscope to identify the optical properties of the fine structure of matter. All substances with birefringence can be clearly distinguished under a polarizing microscope. Of course, these substances can also be observed with dyed hair, but some are not possible, and a polarizing microscope must be used.
The characteristic of the polarizing microscope is the method of changing the ordinary to polarized light for microscope inspection to identify whether a certain substance is single refraction (isotropic) or birefringence (anisotropy).
Birefringence is a fundamental property of crystals. Therefore, polarizing microscopes are widely used in mineral, chemical and other fields. It also has applications in biology and botany.
