What is polarized light microscopy?

Polarized light microscopy is any form of microscopy that involves polarized light. Polarized light microscopes are designed to examine and photograph biological samples that are visible only due to their ability to polarize light.

Polarized light microscopes use a polarizer and an analyzer to view biological specimens. These two lenses provide information about the specimen and its ability to refract light. These microscopes can provide information about the color absorption of the sample and the sample’s refractive index. Polarized light microscopes are often used in optical mineralogy to determine the difference between many different samples of minerals by viewing the samples’ properties.