2. Optical and electronic metallography

2.1 Definitions

Knowledge of materials involves assessing the shape, distribution, quantity and identity of the constituents (phases) that make them up. The basic tools for this are electromagnetic radiation and particles of matter, which have given rise to two main methods: optical microscopy and electron microscopy.

2.1.1 Observation scales

A mechanical part of the order of a metre in size is generally made up of metal grains of the order of 10 µm, which themselves result from a stack of elementary...