Replication (microscopy)
Replication, in metallography, is the use of thin plastic films to nondestructively duplicate the microstructure of a component. The film is then examined at high magnifications.
Replication is a method of copying the topography of a surface by casting or impressing material onto the surface. It is the commonly used technique to duplicate surfaces that are inaccessible in metrology to other forms of nondestructive testing.
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Staphylococcus aureus platinum replica image shot on a TEM at 50,000X magnification
The replicas may be imaged in the light microscope or coated with heavy metals, the replicating film melted away, and the heavy metal replica imaged in a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM).
The same materials, cellulose acetate films, are used for creating replicas of biological materials such as bacteria.
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