#reflected light microscopy
- Polished section — A sample or specimen of rock, ore, opaque mineral, or metallic alloy, structurally ground and polished on one side until a perfectly flat, smooth, mirror-like surface is obtained. In economic geology and metallography, this microscopic preparation is used for examination under an optical reflection microscope (reflected light microscopy), allowing the identification of textures, metalliferous minerals, and internal crystalline structures.