Distinguishing Particles by Refractive Index

Identification of particles is routinely done by specialists in polarizing light microscopy. This science is otherwise known as optical crystallography. To distinguish one known particle from another known particle, we can take a simple approach that doesn’t require polarized light, just a good microscope that can be purchased on eBay for under a thousand dollars, perhaps much under. This and some reference liquids of known refractive index allow you to determine the index of the particle. ...