Abstract
METHODS which have not yet become part of the metallurgist's technique are the subject of this book. After a short introductory chapter on the properties of light, the applications of geometrical optics are discussed with special reference to the examination of metal surfaces, the measurement of reflectivity and the optical properties of thin films. Two chapters are then devoted to wave optics, under the headings of interference and diffraction phenomena. The principles of parallel and inclined plate interferometers are explained, and some applications, reaching a pinnacle of elegance in the author's precision extensometer, are described. Methods of examining films and coatings on metals involving interference colours and fringes are also described. Applications of diffraction phenomena include the measurement of fine meshes and particle size of powders, and an explanation of microscope resolving power.
The Physical Examination of Metals
By Bruce Chalmers. Vol. 1: Optical Methods. Pp. viii + 181 + 4 plates. (London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1939.) 14s. net.
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Metallurgy. Nature 145, 660 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145660c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145660c0