Microscope World Blog

The Dog Hair Experiment

2010-03-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

At Microscope World we are curious and love viewing different specimens under the microscope. The microscope expands the world we live in. Using a metallurgical microscope with reflected light, we took a look at some dog hair.

Image of dog hair was captured at 200x magnification using the ML7100 metallurgical microscope, a c-mount adapter and the DK3000 microscope digital camera.

400x Magnification.

A metallurgical microscope, such as the Meiji MT7000 series, allows viewing of objects that will not allow light to pass through them. A metallurgical microscope is used when a stereo microscope will not provide enough magnification (generally when you need to see micron size particles). Metallurgical microscopes look similar to biological microscopes, but a major difference is that the objective lenses allow light to shine down through them, providing plenty of light for a crisp clear image, at a high magnification.

Microscopic Creatures

2010-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

One of our customers recently purchased a microscope digital camera adapter for the Panasonic FZ28 camera. The adapter has the equivalent of a 10x eyepiece lens built into it and allows the user to connect a standard point and shoot digital camera to the microscope either through the microscope trinocular port or through a microscope eye tube.

This is a Jaera Albifron, part of the leach group. This tiny animal (2mm in size) lives in the high tide zone beneath stones.

Jaera Albifron bearing three eggs.

All images courtesy of Marianne Ligthart.

Ken-A-Vision Kena T-1050 Digital Microscope

2010-03-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Microscope World is proud to offer the Ken-A-Vision Kena T-1050 digital microscope. With 20x, 40x and 100x magnification, this microscope offers both low and high magnification for a range of uses. The top LED light can be used to shine light down on specimens and the bottom LED light will help illuminate slides at higher magnifications.

The Kena can be removed from the stand for handheld macro image capturing. Simply capture images by pressing the button on top of the camera. This feature makes field work easy. The Kena digital microscope runs on the power from the USB cable and 4 AA batteries operate the bottom LED light.

The Kena microscope won the 2009 IDEA Design Award for International Design Excellence. The IDEA competition is a celebration of the most innovative and exciting product and product concept designs of the year and one of the world's most prestigious design competitions. You can purchase the Kena Digital Microscope for home, school or field work from Microscope World.

$20 Bill Under Microscope

2010-03-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

Microscope World recently captured images of the US $20 bill under a microscope. Using the Motic SMZ-168 stereo zoom microscope on the lighted post stand, the magnification was set to 5x to capture these images.

The Moticam MC1000 digital microscope camera was threaded onto the microscope c-mount adapter. The camera includes software and allowed us to view a live image on the computer monitor prior to capturing and saving the image.

The images turned out crisp and clear.

Polarizing Microscope Colors

2010-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Minerals a rocks produce amazing colors. Using a polarizing microscope, Dr. Parvinder Sethi, Professor of Geology at Radford University captured these images of paper-thin slices of rocks with a 35mm film camera.

To prepare the rocks, Dr. Sethi used an industrial rock saw to cut a hand-sized piece of rock, then he trimmed it with an oil-cooled saw with a diamond blade. Once it was trimmed, a square piece of the rock was glued to a glass slide and cured with heat. Next, the slide was ground by hand until it was about 30 microns thick (barely visible to the naked eye).

All images were captured at 40x magnification. The images you are viewing on this page are about the size of the tip of your pencil!

Dr. Sethi does not utilize any color alteration tools when capturing the images. All images are exactly how they appeared under the polarized light microscope.

Once Dr. Sethi captures the images, he develops the film by hand and then scans the images to the computer. Science and art become synonymous with Dr. Sethi's work.

Digital Stereo Microscope

2010-02-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

The DC4-456H digital stereo microscope provides 10x and 30x magnification. The microscope hooks up directly to the computer through the USB port and comes with software. When the software is open on the computer you can view a live image from the microscope. This image can be captured and saved. Measurements can be made using the software as well.

This image of a soda can tab was captured at 10x magnification with the DC4-456H digital stereo microscope.

30x magnification.

Science Project: Microscope Staining Cells

2010-02-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Since many cells are almost transparent under a microscope, it is sometimes necessary to stain them in order to view components of the cells. There are quite a few different types of stains available. You can view a list of the most common microscope stains here.

While many stains are advanced, below is a basic staining activity that you can try at home. There are several types of stains you can use at home including: food coloring, iodine, malachite green (ick fish cure), and methylene blue. You can purchase food coloring at a grocery store, iodine at a pharmacy, and the malachite green and methylene blue can be purchased at an aquarium store.

Certain stains will color different parts of a cell. Experiment with your own to see which part of the cell the different stains attach to. Make sure you have adult supervision - stains can be messy and not only will they color your specimen, but also your hands, the table, carpet, etc. Make sure you put plenty of paper underneath your work area and have some spare towels handy to wipe up any spills.

Science Project: Create a stained prepared slide of your cheek cells and compare this with an unstained prepared slide.

You will need the following items:

Microscope
Blank Glass Slides (2)
Cover Slips (2)
Eye Dropper
Q-Tip or Toothpick
Stain (see above)
Paper Towel
Water
Pencil and Paper

Gently scrape the inside of your cheek with the toothpick or Q-Tip to get some cheek cells. You do not need to press hard. Prepare two identical wet-mount slides by placing the cheek cells and one drop of water on each of the blank microscope slides and covering them with cover slips.

Set one of the prepared slides aside and with the other prepared slide apply the staining material. The image below shows how you can pull the stain into the slide. Place your drop of stain on one side of the cover slip and use a paper towel to pull the liquid out of the other side of the cover slip. When the liquid is pulled out from the left the stain will be pulled under the cover slip from the right.

Take a look at each slide under the microscope. Do you notice differences in the details you can view in the cheek cells? Try the same activity above, but this time try a different type of stain. Make sure you document your science project and draw images of your cheek cells. You may want to share your findings with your classmates!

Microscope Focusing Holders

2010-02-18T17:29:00.000-08:00

A microscope focusing holder is used to connect a stereo microscope body to the microscope stand. If you have a stereo microscope body and would like to mount it to a boom stand, you will need to know two different measurements. #1. You need to measure the diameter of the body, to ensure it will fit in the focusing holder you are purchasing.

Above is a Meiji Microscope focusing holder, with inside diameter of 84.2mm, to accept an 84mm diameter stereo microscope body. This focusing holder is made to fit a 20mm arbor, or mounting post.

The #2 item you will want to measure is the arbor on your stand. The red arrow above is pointing to the arbor. If your arbor does not fit the focusing holder, you won't be able to connect your microscope to the stand.

A different type of microscope focusing holder uses a 5/8" pin mount (shown above) to connect to the microscope boom stand. This is a fairly universal size mount and increases the number of stands that a microscope body can be mounted to.

The articulating arm stand above can be purchased with several different sizes of arbors (mounting posts) or with no arbor, it could be used with the pin-mount focusing holder.

NIST Certified Stage Micrometers

2010-02-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

Stage micrometers are used to calibrate eyepiece reticles. In many industries it is important to have a stage micrometer that is NIST certified. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is a measurement standards laboratory which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce.

NIST certification provides documentation that the stage micrometer meets very specific measuring guidelines.

All of Microscope World's stage micrometers can be NIST certified. If you need a NIST certified stage micrometer please give us a call at 800-942-0528 and we will be happy to help you out.

Inverted Biological Microscopes

2010-02-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Inverted Microscopes have the light source and condenser above the stage, rather than beneath, while the objective lenses are found beneath the stage. On a compound high power upright microscope, the light source and condenser are beneath the stage, while the objective lenses are above the stage.

The image below of the Motic AE21 inverted microscope gives you an idea of where some key components are located on an inverted microscope. Definitions for each of these microscope parts are listed below.

Objectives: The objectives provide magnification for viewing specimens. Total microscope magnification is a combination of the objective power and the eyepiece magnification. For example, if you are using a 10x objective and WF10x eyepieces, your total magnification is 100x.
Coarse & Fine Focusing: Allows you to fine-tune focusing for a crisp, clear image when looking through the eyepieces.
Trinocular Port for Camera: A port where either a digital SLR camera can be adapted, or a microscope camera, using a C-Mount Adapter.
Eyepiece with Diopter: The eyepieces are used to view the microscopic image. The diopter allows correction of dioptric differences between both eyes.
Long Working Distance Condenser: A condenser that has a longer working distance, allowing for larger specimens to be placed under the microscope. Working distance is the amount of space that must be between the specimen and the objective lens in order for the image to be in focus.
Phase Slider: Used to view items with phase contrast objectives.
Filter Holder: Filters (such as a daylight filter or a blue filter) are often used when capturing digital images to prevent hotspots, or to balance out colors for identification of different specimens.
Iris Diaphragm: Part of the condenser that helps to focus light on the specimen, the iris diaphragm controls the diameter of the light that passes through the condenser.

The main advantage of an inverted microscope is the ability to view live specimens in petri dishes (rather than squished between a glass microscope slide and cover slip). The petri dish provides the opportunity to keep specimens in their natural conditions, which can extend the life of the specimen and provide longer viewing opportunities. Additionally, rather than having a full phase contrast microscope, the phase slider can be used in place of staining. Staining can sometimes kill specimens, whereas phase contrast does not require the use of stains.

This is the Meiji TC-5300 inverted microscope. Similar to the AE21 microscope shown above, this microscope has a full phase contrast setup. The binocular version has a camera port where either a digital SLR or C-Mount camera can be adapted. The trinocular version would allow two cameras to be attached at the same time. The mechanical stage allows movement of the stage from left to right or forward and backward with the turn of a knob. This is often helpful at higher magnifications when it is easy to move the specimen right out of the field of view if a mechanical stage is not being used.

Microscope Mechanical Stages

2010-02-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

Microscope mechanical stages allow you to maneuver your slide or specimen by turning a knob. By turning the knob, you can move the stage left to right or forward and backward. A microscope mechanical stage is not always necessary, but can make using the microscope much easier and less frustrating. When you don't use a mechanical stage it is easy to push your specimen right out of the field of view, especially at higher magnifications.

This is the National Optical #910 Mechanical Stage. It fits on many of the high school compound microscopes, such as the 131-CLED student microscope.

This is the MWSTG11 stereo microscope mechanical stage that fits in a 95mm stage plate holder. The glass plate on top allows light to pass through the stage if needed.

Each microscope mechanical stage allows you to move the stage very slowly while looking through the microscope. This ensures that you won't miss any details while scanning specimens. You can view more mechanical stages here.

Cloth Tape Fibers Under Microscope

2010-02-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

Microscope World currently has a customer that manufactures duct tape. Duct tape has cloth fibers woven in it to make it strong. Part of the quality control involves analyzing and measuring some of these fibers.

This image was captured at 20x magnification.

All images were captured using the DC5-420T digital stereo microscope.

40x magnification was obtained using the 1.5x auxiliary lens on the stereo microscope.

The images with a black background vs. white background were simply obtained by flipping over the included black and white stage plate that comes with the microscope.

An eyepiece reticle was placed in the microscope eyepiece to make some basic measurements while looking through the microscope. If the fibers fell beneath a specific parameter a more detailed measurement was made using the software included with the digital microscope. This image was then saved with the measurement imposed on the image.

DS-2 Digital Student Microscope

2010-02-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

The Motic DS2 digital kids microscope has 20x and 40x magnification. The microscope connects directly to the computer and will allow you to view a live image on the computer with the included software. Capture and save images, make measurements and even create your own photo album.

This quarter was captured at 20x magnification with the DS2 digital microscope.

Ball Bearing Boom Stand

2010-02-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

The microscope ball bearing boom stand is perfect for applications when you need to look at small parts and then would like to push the microscope body out of the way. The horizontal boom slides freely, making it easy to maneuver the microscope.

Corian and Granite under the Microscope

2010-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Corian and granite are common materials used for countertops in kitchens. Corian is actually a name DuPont created for a material made up of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate. Granite is an igneous rock that generally has a medium grain texture. We recently took a look at both under a stereo microscope.

Corian at 10x magnification.

Granite at 15x magnificaiton.

Corian at 40x magnification.

Granite at 45x magnification.

All images were captured with the Moticam MC-2000 2.0 mega pixel camera and software.

Swift M10LB Digital Microscope

2010-01-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

We recently had the opportunity to play with the Swift M10LB digital microscope. And we were impressed. Images can be captured and saved directly to the LCD monitor, or onto a removable SD card. When moving a slide under the microscope, the LCD monitor provides a clear image that is not jumpy like some cameras we have tested.

Adjustments can be made with the menu options directly on the LCD screen. Select capture size, adjust the setup or save or delete an image. Select whether you want to capture still images or motion video.

This is an image we captured with the Swift M10 microscope. The slide is a monocot and dicot.

Microscope Troubleshooting

2010-01-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

When using your microscope you may run into a few problems once in a while. Below are some hints for ensuring that the image seen through your microscope is clear and in-focus.

Problem #1: Trouble viewing anything at the highest magnification.
Solution: Make sure you focus on the image at the lowest magnification first, then move up to the higher magnifications.

Problem #2: There is a black spot in my field of view.
Solution: Try moving the slide while looking through the microscope. Does the spot move? If so, clean your microscope slide or cover slip. If the spot does not move, rotate your eyepiece. Did the spot move? If so clean your eyepiece. If not, clean your objective lens. A microscope cleaning kit is good to have on hand.

Problem #3: Image is very dark through the eyepiece.
Solution: Check to make sure that the light is turned on. Is the rheostat control on the light really low? Try turning it up higher. Is the diaphragm open? If not open it up slowly as you look through the eyepiece. Is there a filter covering the light? If so, remove it.

Problem #4: When looking through the microscope eyepiece the image looks like a half moon - one half is dark.
Solution: Check to make sure that your objective lens is clicked fully into position.

Can't figure out something else? Send us an email and we will try to help you out.

Motic Play Software

2010-01-20T16:25:00.001-08:00

The Motic Play Software is included with the digital kids microscopes DM-52 biological microscope and DS-2 dissecting microscope.

Capture images from the microscope and then edit images with the software.

A calibration slide is included with each microscope so that you can calibrate the microscope with the software and make accurate measurements.

Make measurements of lines, find the area of a square, diameter of a circle or draw a polygon and find the area. The measurements are shown in the black box at the bottom of the screen.

After capturing images you can adjust the brightness and contrast of the image.

Save all the images you capture to your album so you can revisit them and share them with your friends and classmates.

Polarizing Microscopes

2010-01-19T10:18:00.001-08:00

Polarizing microscopes are used to view minerals, polymers - basically anything with a crystal structure to it. Specific applications include geology, law enforcement (to look for traces of cocaine or crystal meth), pharmaceutical industries, and the medical industry - specifically to look for gout.

This image of polymers was captured with a MT9300 polarizing trinocular microscope and a MC2300 digital camera.

Polarizing microscopes use a polarizer and an analyzer in order to filter the light so that all the light waves are traveling the same direction on the same plane before it reaches the eyes. An in-depth explanation of polarization can be found here.

Viewing Metal Under A Microscope

2010-01-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

Viewing metal through the microscope can be tricky. Not only does the surface reflect light and sometimes cause hot spots in photographs, but many times the metal is not a flat surface. When viewing items with uneven surfaces at a high magnification, it's important to keep in mind that you won't be able to have the entire object in focus at the same time. This is because the depth of field decreases as magnification increases.

Metal can be viewed with either a stereo microscope or a metallurgical microscope. Stereo microscopes typically provide about 10x-50x magnification. A metallurgical microscope provides much higher magnification of 100x, 400x and sometimes 1000x. In a metallurgical microscope the light comes down through the objective lens to ensure the specimen is illuminated.

This metal slotted gear was captured using a 150w halogen dual pipe illuminator and a SMZ-168 stereo microscope at 40x magnification. Notice how parts of the gear are not in focus because the gear does not all lie on the same flat plane.

Teacher Handbook on Protozoans

2010-01-14T14:23:00.001-08:00

The Protozoan Teacher Handbook was created by a biology teacher for grades 5-12. This handbook has illustrations and covers a variety of protists. The handbook can be used in conjunction with the Protozoan Teaching Videos or by itself.

Microscope Science Project

2010-01-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Need to perform a science project for school? Why not see what types of things grow in pond water when it is kept at different temperatures. Find a local pond or stream and gather some water. Use a depression slide and cover slip to view the water through a high power microscope immediately after you collect it and draw some images (or capture the images if you have a digital microscope).

Now split your pond water into two separate sealed containers, such as washed out yogurt containers with lids. Place one of the containers in a warm sunny area. Put the other container in a ziplock bag (to keep your fridge clean!) and place it in the refrigerator.

After 1-2 days take a sample from each container and compare the specimens. Are there more living organisms in the warm or cold pond water? Do you notice any new specimens swimming in the pond water samples? Why do you think this is?

The image above is bacteria captured at 400x magnification. This is an example of something you might find in the pond water during your science project experiment.

Human Tissue under the Microscope

2010-01-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

Columnar Epithelium are cells that are elongated and column-shaped. Their nuclei are usually located near the base of the cell. Some columnar epithelium cells are specialized for sensory reception, such as in the ears, nose or taste buds on your tongue. In humans, Epithelium are classified mostly as body tissue.

Image captured at 100x magnification with the Lumenera Infiinity 2-1 CCD 1.4 mega pixel camera.

Kids Microscope

2010-01-08T15:28:00.001-08:00

What makes a microscope a "kids microscope"? There are a few important items. Just because a microscope is made for kids, it should still have glass optics. Many kids microscopes are made from plastic and can leave children frustrated with blurry images.

Kids microscopes are generally smaller in size. The microscope should have safety features built into it such as a rack stop to prevent the objective from crashing into the microscope slide and causing damage to the lens.

Many kids microscopes are cordless - this allows kids to gather around a table without tripping over a power cord. The microscope shown below is the 104-LED microscope. This microscope can run off batteries or an optional power cord.
When purchasing a microscope as a gift for a child, including some prepared slides with the microscope will ensure that the child has immediate specimens to view upon opening the gift. Microscopes can open up a completely new world to children and provide hours of educational entertainment.

Stage Micrometers

2010-01-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Stage micrometers are used to calibrate eyepiece reticles. Above is an image of a stage micrometer. You can learn more about measuring with a microscope and calibration here.

One of the more popular stage micrometers is the KR-814 stage micrometer. This stage micrometer tends to be popular because it has a ruler of 1 inch and 25mm inscribed on it.

Above are the actual lines as seen on the stage micrometer. For industries where inches and mm are used, this allows the user to purchase only one stage micrometer, rather than two.

This is a breakout view of the measurements on the stage micrometer. View "A" shows the distances between the lines on the far right of the ruler. You can view a variety of stage micrometers here.