Re: polarizing microscope for the refractive index calculation

"tzavalas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Hello everybody, i´m spiros from greece.
>
> I´m taking a course on polymer science and recently I heard that the
> non-isotropic substances are not bound to have the same rerfactive
> index on all directions. So in the most general case every a sample
> bears 2 vertical and one parallel reflactive index. The parallel or
> vertical dirctions are regarded in relation to an axis of orientation
> of specific groups, like liquid crystals, polymer chains, fibres or
> even bonds between atoms etc(which are in the sample and whose
> "preference" for a direction is what causes the sample to be
> "non-isotropic.")
>
> So  in my case, where I have a stretched polymer film, I guess the
> same thing is taking place. I know that I can use a polarizing
> microscope to calculate the values of the refractive index as the
> incident (planar-polarized) on the sample light rotates.
>
> BUT I DONT KNOW HOW?????????????
>
> thanks in advance, spiros tzavalas.


It is not an easy subject to learn.  It is even more difficult to teach.
There are several good books on the market on optical mineralogy.  I would
suggest the following:

Optical Mineralogy: Principles and Practice. Gribble, F., & Hall, A., 1992.
UCL Press, 302pp.
Major References: 1- Optical Mineralogy, Kerr, P., 1977. McGraw Hill, 442
pp. 2- Mineral Optics: Principles and Techniques. Phillips, W.R., 1971. W.H.
Freeman & Comp.
3- Student Guidebook for the minerals under the Microscope. Nasir, S., 1997.
Colored Manual of Minerals under the Microscope.

Good luck.