Leica Microsystems: Leica Science Lab

Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Image of a tartaric-acid crystal taken with polarization microscopy. Tartaric acid, a diprotic, aldaric carboxylic acid, is a naturally occurring organic compound notably found in grapes.

The Polarization Microscopy Principle

Polarization microscopy is routinely used in the material and earth sciences to identify materials and minerals on the basis of their characteristic refractive properties and colors. In biology,…

Rate the Quality of Your Steel: Free Webinar and Report

This webinar and report describe optimal microscopy solutions for rating steel quality in terms of non-metallic inclusions and reviews the various international and regional standards concerning…

Polarizing Microscope Image Gallery

Polarized light microscopy (also known as polarizing microscopy) is an important method used in different fields, including research and quality assurance. It goes beyond just producing images at high…

Metallography – an Introduction

This article gives an overview of metallography and metallic alloy characterization. Different microscopy techniques are used to study the alloy microstructure, i.e., microscale structure of grains,…

Measuring grains size with Abrams Three-Circle Procedure.

How to Adapt Grain Size Analysis of Metallic Alloys to Your Needs

Metallic alloys, such as steel and aluminum, have an important role in a variety of industries, including automotive and transportation. In this report, the importance of grain size analysis for alloy…

Metallography with Color and Contrast

The examination of microstructure morphology plays a decisive role in materials science and failure analysis. There are many possibilities of visualizing the real structures of materials in the light…

Quality as Clear as Glass - Polarizing Microscopy in Glass Production

An exquisite beverage deserves a high-quality glass. Even the ancient Romans made artistically crafted drinking glasses. In the Middle Ages, Venetian glassmakers were famous for the purity of their…