Final answer:
The detailed description in a book about a scientific experiment for a cancer cure does not align with impressionist principles, which focus on capturing fleeting moments through light and color, rather than explicit details.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about whether an author using detailed descriptions of a scientific experiment in a microbiology lab is employing impressionism. The term impressionism, when applied to literature, often refers to a writing style that evokes certain sensory experiences or emotions rather than providing explicit detail. However, the information provided does not fit with the core attributes of impressionism, which is characterized mainly in the visual arts by its focus on capturing the impression of a moment through light and color, using specific painting techniques aimed at presenting a vivid and immediate sense of a scene. Impressionism as an art movement involved a revolutionary approach to capturing moments, luminance of light and movement with brushstrokes that created a sense of life and interaction. Detailed descriptions of a scientific process are not impressionistic but rather realistic and factual, which is a different literary style. Therefore, the author's approach in this case does not align with the principles of impressionism.