Fiber optic illumination is the transmission of light from a source to one or several fibers, allowing light to escape through the end of the fiber and illumination apparatus. Fiber optic illumination is widely used in medical, dental, automotive, and research applications. It also provides a clean, cold light to be routed, targeted, focused, and/or directed to very specific hard to reach locations or areas. Generally, this kind of illumination uses large core plastic optic fiber as opposed to glass, as it allows a very large amount of light to pass, creating a more brilliant light effect. Most illumination applications utilize light pipes or incoherent bundles as the conduit for light transmission. Both light pipe and incoherent bundles can be manufactured from very small to very large scale, depending on your requirement, space constraints, illumination source, and your light output requirements.

Koehler illumination is a proper illuminating light for microscopy. Every time you use the microscope for transmitted light work, you must align the condenser lens to assure Koehler illumination is optimal. If you don't to do this, you will have poor resolution, strange contrast artifacts, and unevenly lit pictures. Contrast can be adjusted using the condenser diaphragm. However, be careful when adjusting the condenser diaphragm, because if you close the it, it'll reduce resolution. To maximize both contrast and resolution, close the diaphragm just to the point where the image begins to get dark and no further.

Reflected light microscopy is often referred to as incident light, and is the method of choice for fluorescence and for imaging specimens that remain opaque even when ground to a thickness of 30 microns. The reflecting light microscope differs substantially from other microscopes. Light must be directed onto the smooth surface of an opaque mineral in such a manner that it can reflect up the microscope tube. The illuminating system is located way up the microscope tube, light is directed horizontally through an assemblage of diaphragms, lenses and a polarizer. The rays pass through an objective, hit the surface of interest and reflect upward, partly passing through the reflector up the tube, through an ocular lens system, then reaching the observer.

Dual-view microscope is a monocular microscope with a second, vertical viewing port. This vertical port can be used with an eyepiece for a second person, such as an instructor, to view the specimen, or it can be used with an adapter and a video or still camera. These kinds of microscopes are very good for one-on-one tutoring and microphotography. With the help of the dual-view microscope you can try a new microscope technique, which enables simultaneous observation of two different images of an object through a single video camera or by eye.

Compound microscopes are what most people visualize when they think about microscopes. The compound microscope essentially consists of two or more double convex lenses fixed in the two extremities of a hollow cylinder. The lower lens is called the objective, and the upper lens - the eyepiece. Typically the range of magnification on a compound microscope is between 40x and 1000x, although some are capable of higher or lower magnifications. The cylinder is mounted upright on a screw device, which permits it to be raised or lowered until a clear image is formed. Because only one objective is used at a time, the viewer sees a two-dimensional image of the specimen (usually reversed and upside-down).

Trinocular microscope models are basically binocular microscopes that have two eyepieces for normal viewing, plus a third "phototube" on which you can mount a camera without interfering with the normal operation of the microscope. Trinocular microscopes provide the most flexibility for attaching video, digital and 35mm cameras with the help of microscope adapters. And it's very easy to observe through the microscope binocular eyepieces unimpeded while the camera is attached.

Binocular microscopes differ from monocular microscopes because they are adapted to the use of both eyes simultaneously when viewing through microscopes, similar to looking through a pair of binoculars. Binocular microscopes are the most commonly used microscopes today. Almost every microscope may be equipped with a binocular head as standard, and all monocular microscopes may be upgraded with a binocular head. With the help of special microscope camera adapters it is possible to use some video and digital cameras.

Monocular microscopes allow using one eye when viewing through the microscope, similar to looking through a telescope or a rifle scope. Monocular microscopes may have one or two eyepieces but only one objective lens in use at any one time. These microscopes are used to view specimens that have been cut very thinly and placed onto a glass slide. Light is passed through the specimen for viewing. You cannot view large three dimensional objects such as your finger using this type of microscope.Monocular microscopes are most popular for children and the beginners as they are the easiest to use and get comfortable with. In addition, monocular microscopes produce brighter images than similarly equipped binocular microscopes and trinocular microscopes. It is also possible to use some video and digital cameras with monocular microscopes. However, since using a camera on a monocular microscope does not allow the user to view through the microscope while the camera is attached, most microscopists opt for a trinocular head whenever picture taking through the microscope is desired.

This microscopy blog will be consacrated to Stereomicroscopes. Stereo-Microscopes are used extensively throughout the many fields of microscopy. Stereo Microscopes provide low magnifications when compared to compound microscopes, usually no more than 200x total magnification, but there are some exceptions. But as a result of their design they yield extra wide fields of view, large depth of field and ultra-long working distances. For years stereomicroscopes were known as and most widely used as dissection microscopes, but they are much more versatile than that today. Currently, stereo microscopes are used for everything from gem and jewelry inspection (often referred to as gem microscopes or jewelry microscopes), to bulk sample analysis, to dissection, to sample preparation, to QA/QC inspection (sometimes called inspection microscopes), and more.

Today we'll talk more about inverted microscopes. Inverted microscope is one of the versions of a compound microscope.Compared to Upright Microscopes, inverted microscopes look up at the specimens. Inverted microscopes are designed to be used only when specimens are very large or heavy or they are influenced by gravity. Inverted microscopes are used to look at materials, cell culture, etc. These types of specimens show the two uses for inverted microscopes. Materials specimens can be large and heavy at the same time, so they need large, fixed stages that are common for modern inverted microscopes. Cell culture and aquatic specimens collect on the bottom of their containers, so the only way to see these specimens is to look up through the bottom of the container. Inverted microscopes come in two sizes: routine and research. The routine size is the smaller one. It is designed for low to medium powers only, so it may not have a fine focus. Its stage may isn't as versatile, and it doesn't accept cameras as easily as a research inverted. The research inverted is designed to do everything you could ever think of. All research inverted microscopes can be equipped for Kohler illumination. These are large, expensive and complex microscopes that can do a wide range of things. If you are doing materials work, you will probably use a research inverted without a transmitted illuminator.

As I mentioned in the previous posting, starting from today, we’ll inform you about the most popular types of microscopes, their qualities, advantages and disadvantages… So, let’s start… What is an upright microscope? Upright microscopes are the most common types of light microscopes. The upright microscope, like Celestron Biological Microscope 4050 looks down on the specimen with its objectives. Upright microscopes usually have shorter working distance than inverted microscopes. Upright microscopes come in three general sizes: student, mid size and research. Those microscopes differ in price, capability and illumination. Mid size (or bench top microscopes) and research microscopes are Kohler illuminated while most student microscopes have diffusion illumination. Microscopes for students are the least expensive microscopes. Of course, you will loose in ease and grace with them. They are designed to be used by students, which means that they are rugged and simple to use.

Labels: student microscopes, upright microscopes

One of the most important breakthroughs of the past century was the discovery that stated that bacteria and viruses cause diseases. That was the biggest thing, the theory that the infinitely small germs cause diseases. That completely transformed understanding of diseases. Several series of discoveries, all using different kinds of microscopes, including upright microscopes and zoom stereo microscopes, revealed how germs were causing every disease from rabies to tuberculosis. So, we decide to dedicate a whole series of posts to explain you about these microscopes.

There are two things in this world that I admire and am fascinated with - they are art and science. And most of all I'm charmed with the combination of these two components of my life! I noticed that there is not much talk about the digital microscope cameras. I remember being a little girl and how I loved compound microscopes. It was the best day at school when we were scientists for the whole day! Digital Microscope cameras are wonderful, and believe me that everything you put under it, will come out astonishing! Personally, I think that there is a lot of art can be done even with the help of a simple stereo microscope, though you'll need a camera, and of course a microscope camera adapter that will fit both of them. Myself, I'm guilty of this hobby of microphotography… And my family and I love my photos and enjoying having some of them on my walls at home…

Researchers at Delft University of Technology used a high resolution Electron Microscope to observe the collective transportation of gold atoms in a thin layer in real time. This research illustrates the rapid progress that is currently being made by real-time nano-microscopy. In this research project, a small group of gold atoms was placed on a gold surface. Then the Delft researchers used an Electron Microscope together with Microscopy Imaging Analysis Software to show how this group of atoms collectively sank into the underlying layer of atoms and then became arranged in the shape of a surface dislocation. At a later stage, the dislocation disappeared. This is the first time that such a phenomenon has been observed in real-time. This kind of research is a typical example of the rapid progress currently being made by nano-microscopy, or nano-imaging. Nano-microscopy - the observation of individual atoms or molecules - is becoming increasingly more accurate and faster. It is now possible to observe the movements of atoms in real-time, and this allows the position of the atoms to be determined with great precision. So far, this has primarily been observed under laboratory microscopes. But soon live nano-imaging will take the next step to realistic and industrial conditions: real-life, real-time nano-imaging.

Carl Zeiss is adding two new models to its line of entry-level digital cameras for photo- micrography: the 1.4 megapixel AxioCam ICc1 and the 3.3 megapixel AxioCam ICc3. These cameras offer an excellent price-performance ratio and have been developed for users who work with laboratory microscopes and simple stereomicroscopes. The AxioCam ICc cameras with C-mount adapter will work the best for general micrographs of color objects when sufficient light is available. These still digital cameras also provide an economical solution for routine industrial applications or simple documentation tasks in laboratories. They capture fast, high- resolution live images (17 images per second with AxioCam ICc1 and 6 to 39 images per second with AxioCam ICc3) . The addition of these budget-priced entry-level instruments to the AxioCam line makes system solutions from ZEISS available to more users. With an edge length of approx. 4 cm, these cameras are extremely compact. They require neither an adapter nor an external power unit as power is supplied via the FireWire data cable.

A new concept of combing the inconstancy of a stereo microscope with the resolution of a compound microscope has been launched by Nikon Instruments. The new device is called the AZ100 Multizoom Microscope, and it offers the wide field of view and long working distance, which usually is one of the characteristics of the advanced research microscope. And more than that, moving from micro to macro and vise versa is very easy, it's done by switching of the magnifications. In biomedical field, the AZ100 Multizoom microscope supports applications for both mid-magnification and stereo microscopes, and is particularly well suited for cellular research and much more. This groundbreaking innovation has an 8:1 zoom ratio, which appears to be the largest for any such device in the world. The AZ100 Multizoom can also work with darkfield, episcopic and diascopic techniques. Images can be captured through the simple addition of a Nikon digital camera system. The AZ100 Multizoom is also able to create images of the same size for objects at any distance and have a constant angle of view across the entire field of view. The AZ100 Multizoom is ideal when it is necessary to determine the precise size of objects independently from their position within the field of view.

Veeco Instruments Inc., is a leading company of atomic force microscopes. These Atomic Microscopes are for research applications, like Educational Microscopes. Recently, Veeco announced that its new Microscope is becoming very important teaching microscope in universities. During the fourth quarter of 2006, Veeco received orders from two universities already: the Public Interest Group for the National Coordination of Micro and Nanoelectronics training in France and the University of Northern Iowa, USA. Both of these Universities will be using Veeco's Caliber Microscope for teaching AFM methodologies and nanoscience techniques. This Microscope is very affordable and very compact and portable microscope.

Microscopy Technology nowadays is very advanced now and Harvard Scientists took advantage of it. Experts from Harvard University finished their research of the three pictures of Jackson Pollock. To be more correct, these pictures were supposed to be written by Pollock, but no one knew it for sure. So, the chemical analysis of the artwork showed that the paint on the canvases was created and patented after Pollock’s death, in 1956. These pictures were found in 2005 by Alex Matter in his father’s shed. His father was friends with Jackson Pollock. Harvard experts examined the pictures with the help of different techniques, including the research microscope. They determined, that the paint on the first picture didn’t exist till 1971, the paint from the second picture appeared only in 1962, and the third one was invented only in the beginning of 1986. There is a possibility that Pollock could be the author of these art works, but later on they were completed (restored).

Scientists from the German Institute für Experimentalphysik and French Centre d'Elaboration de Matériaux et d'Etudes Structurales informed that they had just recently created a wheel. You might say, that it’s not a discovery because the wheel had been invented centuries ago. But this wheel was created in nano scale model. Their diameter is 0.8 nanometer, and they are connected with the axle, which consists of only four carbon atoms. Earlier this invention couldn’t move, but now the scientists were able to make it move. The move was possible because the scientists with the help of a high resolution microscopes, by different microscope brands such as Celestron Microscopes, LOMO Microscopes were able to slightly push the wheels.