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Laboratory light microscopes that convert optical path differences in the object to intensity differences in the image. This may be accomplished by interference between light that passes through the object and light that follows an unobstructed path. The most frequent method in current use (differential interference contrast of DIC) polarizes and splits the light from the source in two beams; these two beams, traveling in slightly different directions, pass through the object and are recombined. The optical path differences are then seen as differences in intensity and color (optical color staining). These microscopes enable live specimens or unstained thin sections with very good contrast and are used in bacteriology, hematology, and cytology.
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