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Petrography is a scientific method in Petrology,[1] that is largely based on the study of the appearance of thin, transparent sections of rocks in a microscope[fn 1] fitted with polarizers;[fn 2] in the absence of external crystalline form. As with the minerals in a rock, a mineral often may be readily identified by the determination of some of its optical properties.[2]

Notes[]

  1. Ferdinand Zirkel, German geologist was a pioneer in microscopic petrography, the study of rock minerals by viewing thin slices of rock under a microscope and noting their optical characteristics.
  2. See: Petrographic microscope

References[]

Further reading
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