Cochise College        Student Presentation

                          Geology Home Page

                          Roger Weller, geology instructor

                          wellerr@cochise.edu


Creating Thin Sections
by Jill Forsythe
text     equipment     process     chart     samples     references

Thin Section Equipment
 

  
The masonry wheel used to cut samples.

 

    
The lapidary wheels used to grind the specimens.

 

 
200, 400, and 600 Silicon Carbide.

 

 
The hot plate used to remove water and heat slices. 
 

  
A press used to compact rock grains.

 
Lapidary wheels used for making polished sections.

 

A polarizing microscope is very important to use because when it is set up properly it cuts out the glare from all reflecting surfaces; this microscope removes all light.  The polarizing filters are set up so that they are at right angles to each other and parallel to the cross-wires in the eyepiece of the microscope.  When you put the specimen in the microscope only the true crystal colors show.