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THE MICROSCOPY OF THE SILT FRACTION
Author(s) -
SMITHSON F.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 0022-4588
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1961.tb00905.x
Subject(s) - materials science , optical microscope , silt , phase contrast microscopy , microscopy , foil method , microscope , optics , composite material , mineralogy , geology , scanning electron microscope , paleontology , physics
Summary The microscopy of silt and very fine sand yields valuable information if the relevant petrological techniques are appropriately modified. The applicability of wire‐and nylon‐sieving, sedimentation, panning, heavy‐liquid separation, and staining to fine materials is considered. A method of passing through tin foil perforated with slits a few microns wide classifies material by thickness and not y real or nominal diameters, thus giving micro‐preparations with all the material near the same level of focus. The importance of dispersion when mounting and choice of correct cover‐glass thickness is discussed. A method of assessing densities of the particles in heavy liquids under the microscope is described and precautions necessary for obtaining the maximum amount of information from the examination with polarized light and phase contrast are outlined.