What does a petrologist do?
A petrologist is a scientist that studies rocks. The first tool that most petrologists use is a petrological microscope. This is used to view thin sections of rocks ( thin slices of rock that are about a hair’s thickness). This microscope uses polarized light ( light in which all the waves vibrate in a single direction). Once this is used, there are many other tools available that are used depending upon what questions are being answered. For instance there is equipment that can be used to determine the permeability of a rock ( how fast fluids flow through a rock ). This can be of interest to persons studying how much water can be delivered from an aquifer or how best to produce oil or gas from a rock. Study of rocks is also important in finding deposits of commercially valuable minerals, and in determining the history of the earth.
