April 2013 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine

Transcription

April 2013 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine
Microbe
Hunter
Microscopy Magazine
History of Stereo
Microscopy
Science Museum
ISSN 2220-4962 (Print)
ISSN 2220-4970 (Online)
Volume 3, Number 4
April 2013
The Magazine for the
Enthusiast Microscopist
http://www.microbehunter.com
De-gassing of
mounting media
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 1
ABOUT
Microbehunter Microscopy Magazine
The magazine for the enthusiast microscopist
MicrobeHunter Magazine is a non-commercial project.
Volume 3, Number 4, April 2013
ISSN 2220-4962 (Print)
ISSN 2220-4970 (Online)
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Front Cover: Plant cross section (Exo Labs)
Left image: R. Jordan Kreindler
Middle image: Oliver Kim
Right image: Neill Tucker
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2 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
CONTENTS
4
19
22
Stereomicroscope Part 3: Specialized Applications
Greenough stereomicroscopes: Some uses and
instruments
R. Jordan Kreindler
A Novice’s Experience
De-gassing mounting media before use can reduce air
bubble formation.
Neill Tucker
p. 4
Some Microscopes displayed in the
Science Museum in London
A highly recommended museum with many
interesting exhibits!.
Oliver Kim
26
Gallery
Testate Amoebae
Hans Rothauscher
Exo Labs’ Focus Microscope Camera™ pens the
Unseen World to Exploration
We have designed a camera to plug into any
microscope and feed the image into an iPad.
George Cawman
Answer to the puzzle (back cover):
Blood of a frog (red blood cells with
nucleus visible)
28
p. 22
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 3
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
The history of the stereomicroscope
Specialized Applications
Greenough stereomicroscopes: Some uses and instruments
R. Jordan Kreindler (USA)
Ophthalmology
One type of stereomicroscope used
daily in clinical practice is the slit lamp
instrument, Fig. 38 and Fig. 39, seen in
most ophthalmologist's and optometrist's offices. These instruments contain
stereo Greenough microscopes, (e.g.,
Haag Streit, Topcon), or CMOs (to be
discussed in the next part), adjustable
slit lamp illumination, usually a tonometer, a device for measuring intraocular
pressure (IOP) in mm of mercury to test
for glaucoma, a chin brace, and forehead rest on a single adjustable stand.
As Manuel del Cerro explained to
the author (del Cerro, 2012), the name
slit lamp is perhaps inappropriate, as
this assemblage is named for only one
of its components, which it can be reasonably argued, is not as important as
its microscope. This is likely the reason
a slit lamp is sometimes referred to by a
longer and more descriptive name, slitlamp biomicroscope. Slit lamps are usually used in conjunction with a Hruby
lens, typically -55/56 diopter (-55/56D),
to allow examination of the retina.
Slit lamps are used to examine the
eye's interior, iris, cornea, vitreous humor, and retina to allow for anatomical
diagnosis. As they are built using high
quality optical and mechanical components designed for continuous clinical
use, slit lamps are expensive, but appear
virtually indestructible and long functioning.
A slit lamp changed from a purely
observational device to a measuring instrument with the inclusion of a tonometer to evaluate intraocular pressure
(IOP). It was further extended as a measuring tool when additional capabilities
were added to measure the distance
from the cornea to the lens, and the
thickness of the cornea.
Used functioning models, of relatively recent slit lamps, are usually on
the market only a short time, as there is
a constant demand from eye care specialists. Models from the major slit
lamp manufacturers such as Zeiss
(CMOs), the original manufacturer of
the modern stereomicroscope, and Haag
Streit (Greenough), generally retain
4 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Figure 38. Topcon SL-2E Slit Lamp
(Bryant, 2012)
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 39. Haag-Streit slit lamp
good resale values as used equipment.
For example, a used Haag-Streit S350
slit lamp, depending upon condition and
completeness, often sells for between
USD $3,000 to $8,500. On trade-in for
an improved Haag-Streit slit lamp, the
BM 900 pictured here can reach $5,000.
Fig. 39 shows a Haag-Streit
Greenough microscope from various
angles. Fig. 40 shows an eye as seen
through this instrument, and the slit
lamp's illumination can be seen reflected by the eye (Ozment, 2012).
Photoreconnaissance
Another specialized application was
film photoreconnaissance analysis. One
example of this is the Bausch & Lomb
Greenough-style stereo zoom 240 photoreconnaissance microscope, c. 1970.
This was used for photo interpretation
of film from, often still classified,
flights of Corona satellites, SR-71
Blackbirds, and other U.S. photoreconnaissance resources.
With the arrival of high-resolution
digital imaging, this microscope was
removed from use. However, during
the early digital imaging age film still
had higher resolution, so film photoreconnaissance analysis persisted. Only
after the development of higher resolution digital imaging was film finally
replaced. In spite of the availability of
later optical instruments, while film
continued in use this B&L microscope
was still used, and often preferred, for
the analysis of film images.
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 5
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
The history of the stereomicroscope
Figure 40. Human eye as seen
through BM 900 Haag-Streit
Greenough Microscope
The B&L 240 Aerial Photo Interpretation Stereo Zoom microscope, with
some of its accessories, is shown in its
storage case in Fig. 41, and assembled
in Fig 42. The microscope has a maximum magnification of 120x and can
resolve images up to 400 lines per mm.
Although this microscope is c. 1970s,
its resolution is greater than that of
some modern high-quality camera lenses.
The Stereozoom 240, shown here,
has two rhomboid arms and stereo objective lenses that are at the ends of
these arms. When used for photoreconnaissance analysis, the B&L 240 pod
with attached rhomboid arms and objectives was installed over a light table,
typically made by Richards or Bausch
and Lomb. The light intensity provided
by different table models varied significantly, from a luminance of approximately 2,200 to 90,000 foot-Lamberts
(about 700 to 28,650 candles/square
foot).
The transmitted light, from most
tables, followed the movement of the
rhomboid arms either magnetically or
mechanically, and so provided lighting
where needed. Separate illumination for
each stereomicroscope objective had
been introduced by Riddell over 100
years earlier.
Quality Control - Solid State
Devices
Most semiconductor devices are
fabricated onto thin sheets made from
silicon, although other compounds are
also used. These semiconductor devices
are made in relatively expensive facilities called "fabs".
Before the 1970s about 3/4 of stereomicroscope applications were in the
life sciences. The 1970s saw the rapid
growth of the semiconductor industry.
Coincident with the growth of fabs was
the use of Greenough zoom stereomicroscopes for the examination of the
thin sheets of semiconductor material
made in these fabs. These sheets, called
wafers, contain fabricated integrated
circuits (ICs). The ICs are cut from the
6 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
wafers and installed in packages. Because of the need for stereomicroscopes
to examine these wafers. The rapid
growth of the semiconductor industry
lead to a concurrent and rapid growth in
the production of Greenough microscopes. The new semiconductor industry was probably the single greatest
impetus in the growth of Greenough
microscope production.
Fig. 43 shows a 3 inch wafer, typical
of c. mid-1970s, containing Motorola
MC6800 chips. The MC6800 was an
8-bit microprocessor with a 16-bit bus,
and was patterned after the then popular
DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation)
PDP-11 CPU. Clock frequency for this
processor initially was 1 MHz, later
raised to a 2 MHz clock. This 8-bit
processor contains about 70,000 transistor equivalents.
A larger wafer has a greater chance
of damage during fabrication, and thus
can produce a lower yield. Quality control using stereomicroscopes was, and
is, an important resource for identifying
damaged wafer ICs (see Fig. 20). It was
also necessary to examine printed circuit (PC) boards after ICs and other
components were connected, see Fig.
45. Items such as those in Figs. 43, 44
and 45 were often viewed through a
Greenough microscope for quality control.
Wafer diameters were initially measured in inches, up to about 5 inches.
For larger wafers, dimensions are measured in millimeters (mms). Today,
300mm is considered the standard for
state-of-the-art wafers, with the next
standard expected to be 450mm.
Fig. 46 shows a later example of a
wafer containing 80386 ICs, and beside
it two pin grid array packages. The
80386 was also known as the i386. It
was a 32-bit processor, c. mid-1980s.
This microprocessor had over 1/4 million transistor equivalents, considerably
more than the MC6800, but rather "puny" compared to today's microprocessors.
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 41. Bausch and Lomb 240
aerial photo interpretation stereo
zoom microscope, in its laboratory
storage case, with some accessories
Figure 42. Assembled Bausch and
Lomb 240 aerial photo interpretation
stereo zoom microscope
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 7
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Most quality control stereomicroscopes used by the semiconductor industry were Greenough-style zoom
instruments. Bausch and Lomb StereoZooms, in particular, first introduced in
1959, became popular with the growing
technology companies in Silicon Valley
(Kreindler, 2012). Fig. 47 shows a later
model B&L StereoZoom. B & L's StereoZoom entry was soon followed by
AO's Stereo Star zoom series, Fig. 48.
StereoZooms were sold to the semiconductor industry in significant numbers and are still widely available,
although their production stopped at the
The history of the stereomicroscope
beginning of the 21th century. They can
be seen for sale almost any week on
eBay.
Fig. 20 shows a damaged integrated
circuit as seen under a Greenough stereomicroscope, as it would have appeared
through a B&L StereoZoom or AO Stereo Star microscope.
Today, higher zoom ratios are common. The first, double digit, 10:1 zoom
stereomicroscope was the Zeiss Citoval
c. 1975 (Lau, 2012). Zoom ratios have
continued to expand beyond this for
many top-of-the-line instruments, e.g.,
the Nikon SMZ1500 with a 15:1 (0.75 11.25x) zoom.
The Bausch and Lomb Optical Systems Division and the American Optical
(AO) company after a series of corporate acquisitions and mergers came together in one company. A company that
also owned Reichert and Leica. This
led to the rebranding of many stereo
instruments. See Part 4 for a further
discussion of stereomicroscope rebranding.
As noted earlier, stereomicroscopes
had, perhaps, their largest sales boost in
consonance with the growth of the
Figure 43. A wafer with
Motorola MC6800 ICs
8 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 44. A mounted Motorola
MC6800 microprocessor without top
cover
Figure 45. PC Board with soldered
components as seen through a
Greenough microscope
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 9
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
The history of the stereomicroscope
Figure 46. An 80386 wafer and two pin
grid array packages
Figure 47.
Bausch and Lomb
StereoZoom 7, stand and microscope
pod with coaxial lighting option
10 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
semiconductor industry. Today, components and circuit boards are becoming
even smaller, as newer fabrication and
mounting techniques are developed.
Thus, stereomicroscopes are now even
more essential in electronics laboratories, development centers, and fab facilities. Newer assembly methods often
use SMD (Surface Mount Devices).
These are considerably smaller than
previous discrete components and are
normally impossible to see adequately
without a microscope.
Fig. 49 presents a portion of a circuit
board with SMD components used in a
remote temperature sensor, as seen
through a Greenough stereomicroscope.
Figs. 50 and 51 show respectively SMD
capacitors as they are often sold in 8
mm wide strips of components (often
20 or more) and a close-up, through a
Greenough microscope, of three of
these capacitors. Each capacitor measures approximately 1 mm x 2mm.
These SMD capacitors are thus considerably smaller than capacitors used in
the previous generation of electronic
circuits.
Surgery
Operating room microscopes are
usually stereoscopic and are often stable, floor standing instruments. Stereomicroscopes are used for a variety of
surgical procedures. The surgical applications are too numerous for a comprehensive list to be presented here, but
they include the medical specialties of
cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology,
dentistry, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat),
neurology, oncology, ophthalmology,
orthopedics, plastic and reconstructive
surgery, and urology.
Many operating room microscopes
have straight or only slightly tilted binocular tubes. However, microscopes
used for ophthalmologic and other specialized surgeries are often inclined at
45 degrees (although occasionally at
other angles). Most high-quality operating room microscopes have electronic
controls for focusing and positioning,
which are usually foot or head-mounted. These microscopes are frequently
equipped with dual or triple heads,
and/or with a video output channel for
simultaneous viewing of the surgical
procedure by operating room personnel.
However, the video is only two dimensional, while the images through the
microscope are three-dimensional. As
these microscope are usually equipped
with their own independent light sources, they can provide the spot illumination needed to see inside small openings.
Not all operating room microscopes
are floor-standing. Zeiss makes surgical
Figure 48.. AO Stereo Star Zoom
microscope "pod" (i.e., a microscope
by itself for mounting on a variety of
stands)
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 11
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 49. This shows a portion of
circuit board from a remote IR temperature sensor. The board contains
SMD (Surface Mount Devices).
The history of the stereomicroscope
Figure 50. SMD (Surface Mount Devices) as they are often sold, mounted in plastic strips. The SMD devices
shown here are capacitors.
12 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Figure 51. Greenough microscope
close-up of three SMD (Surface
Mount Devices) capacitors
The history of the stereomicroscope
head-mounted loupes, in powers from
about 4x to 8x. Leica now sells a headmounted surgical microscope, model
HM500. These head-mounted stereomicroscopes allow surgeons greater mobility than possible with a floor standing
unit.
The HM500 comes with zoom and
autofocus capabilities, similar in many
ways to modern digital cameras, and
with from 2 - 9x magnification. The
HM500 uses rechargeable batteries for
mobility. It provides foot pedal controls
for zooming and manual focusing if
needed.
Most operating room microscopes
are registered and/or certified. In the US
registration is done by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA). In Europe
Conformité Européenne (CE) certification, indicating compliance with EU
regulations, is common. Unfortunately,
some countries do not require registration or certification. In these countries
surgical room microscopes are usually
less expensive, but issues of optical and
mechanical performance can arise. All
surgical microscopes are relatively expensive, even head-mounted loupes.
A Sampling of Zeiss Greenough
Microscopes
After Zeiss' introduction of the
Greenough stereomicroscope at the end
of the 19th century, other companies
started manufacturing similar instruments. It would be very difficult, perhaps impossible, to list all Greenough
microscopes manufactured, even if we
restricted ourselves to only modern
times and "top" makers. With only
modest descriptions, that list alone
would likely exceed the length of this
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
paper. Also, many previous Greenough
microscope makers are no longer in
business. Thus, confirming the accuracy of model designations and release
dates would be difficult, and likely impossible. Also ome of the companies
contacted have responded that many of
their earlier manufacturing records are
no longer available.
Therefore, rather than attempting to
cover all the Greenoughs instruments
manufactured, a likely impossible task,
only a small sampling of general purpose instruments from a number of significant manufacturers, including the
original Greenough developer, Zeiss, is
presented here.
This sampling serves to illustrate the
evolution of Greenough microscopes.
For competitive reasons, microscope
makers often copied each other's "newest" concepts. Thus, the manufacturers
Figure 52. This is a Zeiss 'Double
tube X with revolving nosepiece',
c. 1935.
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 13
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
The history of the stereomicroscope
presented here were somewhat synchronized with the each other's production
models and the general evolution of
Greenough microscopes by all makers.
Zeiss continued to produced
Greenough microscopes after their first
in 1897, and the company still manufactures and sells them today, e.g., the
Stemi DV4, 2000/C/CS. Many of these
Greenoughs are general purpose instruments, used for a variety of applications. The discussion that follows
presents a few of these general-purpose
Zeiss models, spanning the interim
from Zeiss' first Greenough to the present.
Some Zeiss Greenough Models
Fig. 52 shows a Zeiss Stand X, similar to that of Fig. 26. However, here the
Stand has a triple turret, to allow easier
magnification changes. This model had
one of the earliest turrets made for
Greenough microscopes. The turret
here is thin and requires care in changing magnifications to avoid bending the
assembly. This potential problem was
eliminated by Zeiss in later models.
A contemporary Zeiss catalog notes,
“If the observer can always make do
with as few as three paired objectives, a
still more rapid exchange may be had
by arming the double tube X with the
triple revolving nose piece ... In this
case, all that is necessary is to turn the
disk of the nosepiece in order to swing
any pair of objectives into line with the
axes of the double tube.
If the revolving nosepiece is to be
employed, room must be provided for it
by a recess in the prism body. The revolving nosepiece cannot be used with a
double tube not having the recess.”
(Zeiss, 1937).
Although the turret design is somewhat delicate, this model is fully functional and the arrangement provides
exceptional images. The inserts in Fig.
52 show this turret from above and below, illustrating both its flexibility and
fragility. The turret, in addition to providing magnification changes using the
mounted lens sets, allowed for the removal and insertion of objective lens
pairs on dovetail sliders, offering magnification options beyond those avail-
able with the originally installed sets.
These objective pairs were similar to the
objective sets in the single magnification Stand X of Fig. 26, so many magnification choices were available.
Below the stage, of Fig. 52 is a large
circular rotating disk providing three
backgrounds: a black or white background for incident illumination, and a
cylindrical opening for transmitted illumination. To reflect transmitted light
the microscope has both plane and convex substage mirrors. The short, open
cylinder for transmitted light allows for
the insertion of a lens or condenser in
the light path. This arrangement again
14 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Figure 53. Zeiss Greenough-style
Stereomicroscope III, c. 1965, used
for a variety of applications. Two
extra eyepieces are shown on the
bottom left
demonstrates the heritage Stand X, and
other relatively early Greenoughs, owe
to the biological compound microscope.
This microscope could be used for
dissecting with the attached hand-rests,
but with its multiple magnifications it
was commonly used as a general purpose instrument. As noted earlier, Stand
X was manufactured from 1926 to 1942.
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 54. Zeiss DRC
Left: Zeiss Stemi DRC, with
Phototube, and stereo objective
changer, Microscope c. mid-1980s
Top: [Diagram of DRC light paths
from Zeiss catalog, Courtesy and
with permission of, Carl Zeiss
Microscopy, LLC (Zeiss, 1984)]
Fig. 53 shows a Zeiss Greenough
Stereomicroscope III c. 1965 with magnifications of 1 - 4x and a working distance of 74mm (about 3 inches), that can
be used for a variety of applications. It
has the capability of seeing objects with
either incident or transmitted light. A
"stripped down" version of this stand
was available with only incident light
capabilities. It replaced the Zeiss Model
II, and was itself replaced itself replaced
by Zeiss' Model IVb. The model IVb, c
1976, had over double the magnification
range, 0.8 - 5x, of the Stereomicroscope
III. [If you're using the pictures in this
article for model identification, please
note that the Zeiss Greenough Stereomicroscopes I, III, and IV look almost
identical. However, the toroid (doughnut-shaped ring) directly below the
prisms on the Stereomicroscope III has
a large black knob at its front center.
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 15
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Figure 55. Zeiss DV4 Greenough
stereomicroscopes (various current
versions).
Courtesy and with permission of Carl
Zeiss Microscopy, LLC
This knob is not present on Stereomicroscope Models I and IV.]
Fig. 54 shows a later Zeiss
Greenough Stemi DRC stereomicroscope (C for camera) on Stand O, with
stereo-lens changer D, and Phototube
DRC for easy documentation, and dual
10x Br/25 wide-angle eyeglass compatible eyepieces. This Stemi has four
magnification options 1.6x, 2x, 4x, and
8x. These magnification changes are
obtained by a combination of dovetail
slider, and a triple drum changer (stereo-lens changer D) for the three greater
magnifications. This changer has a
built-in double-iris diaphragm. Images
can be sent to the camera port by using
the slider on the underside of this port.
Moving the slider, positions an internal
mirror either in or out of the light path.
If in the path it reflects light from one of
the objectives to a second mirror that
sends light upward to the camera port.
The history of the stereomicroscope
The combination of eyepieces and
objectives provide magnification options of 16x, 20x, 40x, and 80x. Working distances, depending on lenses, of
either 54mm (2.12"), 63mm (2.48"), or
88mm (3.46"). Although difficult to see
in the picture, this microscope has a flat
substage slider to allow an opaque
white background or a transparent
opening against which to view objects.
This microscope also comes with a
Zeiss W 10x/25 Br eyepiece for the
camera port. [Author's note: This microscope belongs with the "D" Zeiss
Series Greenough stereomikroskops,
where Ds have a fixed magnification,
DRs have changeable fixed magnifications, and DV4s have zoom capabilities].
Fritz Schulze (Schulze, 2011, 2012)
was kind enough to provide the prices
for some DR options, in Canadian dollars, in 1976.
47 50 02
47 50 32/33/34
46 40 01-9903
43 51 05
Stereotube DR $268.00
Paired objectives $76.00 ea
Eyepiece 10x
$58.00 ea.
(wide angle,
$89.00 ea.)
Stand LO
$105.00
Zeiss continued to use essentially
similar stands and other components,
16 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
e.g., the same basic stand, and lighted
stand with rheostat (in the Stemi SV6
series), as well as the same illuminator,
photo tube, and occasionally the same
style of binocular tubes for other
Greenough Stemi microscopes. This
style was also used by Zeiss for some of
their CMO microscopes such as the SR,
discussed later in this paper.
These microscopes and their close
relatives were sold c. 1960s -1980s.
Zeiss has continued to use the DR and
DV4 designations [(DR 1040, 10x and
40x), (DR 1663, 16x and 63x), DV4
(8x to 32x zoom), and DV4 Spot (fiberoptic cold light illumination)] through
more recent times. These designations
are still used on Zeiss Stemi Greenough
microscopes, although newer microscopes have significant design and color
changes. Fig. 55 shows some current
versions of Zeiss' DV4.
The history of the stereomicroscope
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Combined References and
End Notes
Davis, George E., F.R.M. S. (1882). Practical Microscopy. London: David Bogue
tion. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press
This list includes most reference and notes
for the full paper. However, additional references may be added in later parts.
Dinkins, Greg. (2009-1). London in 3D: A
Look Back in Time: With Built-in Stereoscope Viewer - Your Glasses to the Past!
Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press
Hartley, W. G. (1993). The Light Microscope Its Use & Development. Oxford: Senecio, p 111
Allen, R. M. (1940). The Microscope. Boston: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., P87.
Auerbach, Felix (1904). Das Zeisswerk und
die Carl Zeiss Stiftung in Jena (Trans:The
Zeiss plant and the Carl Zeiss Foundation in
Jena). Verlag von Gustav Fischer
Bryant, Dr. Mark L., (2012) The author's
thanks to Dr. Bryant and his staff for permission to photograph their Topcon slit lamp.
Bausch & Lomb Optical Co (1929). Microscopes & Accessories: Photomicrographic
and Micro-Projection Apparatus Microtomes
. Colorimeters Optical Measuring Instruments and Refractometers. New York:
Bausch & Lomb, p 81.
Blake, George Palmer (1995). The Great
Exhibition: A Facsimile [Reprint] of the Illustrated Catalogue of London's 1851 Crystal Palace Exposition. RH Value Publishing
Blocker (2012). Blocker History of Medicine
http://ar.utmb.edu/ar/Library/BlockerHistory
ofMedicineCollection/BlockerHistoryofMedi
cineArtiacts/MicroscopeCollection/Microsco
pesMakersandTheirInstruments/MicroscopeS
wift/tabid/877/Default.aspx
Bracegirdle, Brian (2005). A Catalog of the
Microscopy Collections at the Science Museum, London. [Computer Disk]
Bryant, Dr. Mark L. (2012). The author's
thanks to Dr. Bryant and his staff for permission to photograph their Topcon slit lamp.
Carpenter, William (with revisions by Rev.
W. H. Dallinger) (1901). The Microscope
and Its Revelations.
Eighth Edition. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Company, p
96.
Cherubin, d'Orléans. Père (1677). La Dioptrique Oculaire ou La vision parfait ou le
concours des deux axes de la vision en un
seul point de l'objet, Paris: S. Mabre-Cramoisy Cooke, M.C. (1869) One Thousand Objects for the Microscope with five hundred
figures. Frederick Warne and Co.: London
del Cerro, Manual (2012). The author's
thanks to Dr. del Cerro for his kindness in
reviewing the section on ophthalmology, and
his helpful suggestions. However, all content
is the sole responsibility of the author.
Doherty, Glenn (2012). The author's thanks
to Mr. Doherty, Support Representative, Carl
ZeissMicroscopy, LLC for his help in identifying start and end manufacturing dates for
some Zeiss stereomicroscopes.
Dinkins, Greg (2009-2). New York City in
3D: A Look Back in Time: With Built-in Stereoscope Viewer - Your Glasses to the Past!
Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press
Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910). A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and
General Information, 11th Edition, Volume
3, Binocular Instrument. New York, p 950.
Ferraglio, Paul L. (2008). The Riddell Stephenson Binocular Microscope. The Journal
of the Microscope Historical Society. Volume 16. The author's thanks to Dr. Ferraglio,
a leading authority on Prof. Riddell's microscope and its successors. Dr. Ferraglio was
kind enough to provide the author with reprints of his papers, as well as helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
However, all content here is the sole responsibility of the author.
Ford, Brian (1973). The Optical Microscope
Manual. Past and Present Uses and Techniques. New York: Crane, Russet & Company, Inc.
Fox, Deborah (2003). The Great Exhibition
(How Do We Know About?) Heinemann Library
Goren, Yuval. The author's thanks to Dr.
Goren for the many discussions we've had on
historical microscopes, and his emphasis on
the importance of setting microscopes in
their historical context.
Gubas, Lawrence J. (2008). A Survey of
Zeiss Microscopes 1846-1945. Las Vegas:
Graphics 2000. This
book provides additional color photographs of a Model XV and
its storage on page 253. It can be highly recommended for its detailed and exceptional
discussions of Zeiss microscopes.
Gubas, Lawrence J. (private correspondence, 2012). The author's thanks to Mr.
Gubas for information on Zeiss instruments
and employees, and pointers to Zeiss materials.
Hagan, Kevin (private correspondence,
2011). Thanks to Mr. Hagan of ALA industries Limited, Valparaiso, Indiana for providing a Contamikit brochure and PDF of the
Instruction Manual.
Hogg, Jabez (1867). The Microscope: Its
History, Construction, and Application.
Sixth Edition. London: George Routledge
Journal of the Society of Arts, Vol XXXIV, (November 1886). London: George Bell
and Sons, for the Society of Arts, Fig. 16, p
1014.
Kreindler, R.J. and Yuval Goren, (March
2011), Comparison of the Swift FM-31 Portable Field Microscope and an FM-31
Clone, Micscape, Figs. 11, 12, and 13.
Kreindler, R.J. and Yuval Goren (May
2011). Baker's Traveller's Microscope, Micscape
Kreindler, R.J. and Yuval Goren, (November 2011). The TWX-1 Folded-Optics
Microscope, Micscape
Kreindler, R. J. (2012). The author worked
in Silicon Valley for a number of years and
saw the extensive use, and occasional abuse,
stereo microscopes in high-tech companies
were subjected to.
Lau, Berndt-Joachin (2012). The author 's
thanks to Herr Lau of Carl Zeiss Microscopy
GmbH for his information on Zeiss GDR
microscopes, and Zeiss' situation in Germany
after WWII.
Maertin, Rainer (2012).
www.photoarsenal.com. The author's thanks
for his permission to use the photo of the
Brewster type stereo viewer.
Mappes, Timo (2005). The First Commercial Comparison Microscope, made after
Wilhelm Thörner by W. & H. Seibert, Wetzlar. The Journal of the Microscope Historical Society. Volume 13, No. 2.
Mappes, Timo (2005-2006). Museum optischer Instrumente,
http://www.musoptin.com/seibert_15368.ht
ml
Moe, Harald (2004). The Story of the Microscope. Denmark: Rhodes International
Science and
Art Publishers with the Collaboration of The Royal Microscopical Society, p. 176.
Hermann, Armin (1991) Nur Der Name
War Geblieben: Die absenteuerliche Geschichte der Firma Carl Zeiss Stuttgart:
Deutsche Verlag-Anstalt, 1991, p. 37
Hankins, Thomas L. and Robert J. Silverman (1995). Instruments and the Imagina-
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 17
STEREO
MICROSCOPY
Nikon Microscopy U (undated) Introduction
to Stereomicroscopy states, "The first modern stereomicroscope was introduced in the
United States by the American Optical Company in 1957. Named the Cycloptic®, this
breakthrough design...". Although this was a
landmark in American stereomicroscopes,
the common objective concept was first used
by Riddell in 1850s, and a common large
objective was later implemented by Zeiss in
their Citoplast, considerably before the Cycloptic® was introduced. NYMS (1957) The
author's thanks to the New York Microscopical Society for permission to reprint the advertisement from their 1957 Newsletter (See
Pollinger, 1957)
NYMS (1957) The author's thanks to the
NYMS for permission to reprint the advertisement from their 1957 Newsletter (See
Pollinger, 1957)
Orlowski, Kristen and Dr. Michael Zölffel
(private correspondence, 2012). The author's
thanks to both Kristen Orlowski, Product
Marketing Manager, Light Microscopes, Carl
Zeiss Microscopy, LLC and Dr. Michael
Zölffel, Carl Zeiss MicroImaging Gmb, Jena, Germany for information and materials
they provided regarding Zeiss history.
Ozment, Randall R. (2012). The author's
thanks to Dr. Ozment for permission to photograph his Haag-Streit slit lamp, and for his
explanation of its use in clinical practice.
Pellerin, Denis (2000). The Origins and Development of Stereoscopy. In Paris in 3D:
From stereoscopy to virtual reality 18502000. In association with the Musee Carnavalet, Museum of the History of Paris.
The history of the stereomicroscope
stitut für Biologie I (Zoologie). Freiburg,
Germany: Springer-Verlag,
Schulze, Fritz (2011, 2012). The author's
thanks to Mr. Schulze, former head of the
Historical Microscopical Society of Canada
for his extensive knowledge of Zeiss microscopes which he kindly shared, and our extended exchanges on stereo microscopes.
Schwabe, Ms. Marte (2012). The author's
thanks to Ms. Schabe, Assistant to Dr. Wimmer, Carl Zeiss Archiv for her assistance
(see Wimmer below).
Schwidefsky, Kurt (1950). Grundriss der
Photogrammetrie, Verlag für Wissenschaft
und Fachbuch: 1950 (Reference from Fritz
Schulze).
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...? The Great Exhibition. London: Heinemann
Serfling, Thomas (2012). The author 's
thanks to Herr Serfling, Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH for permission to use a photograph of him with an Anianus stereo
microscope.
Stanley, Jay (2012), The author's thanks for
permission to use photos from his web site
Classic Optics.
http://www.classicoptics.com/
Turner, G L'E (1989) The Great Age Of
the Microscope: The Collection of the Royal
Microscopical Society Through 150 Years.
Bristol: Adam Hilger
Wade, Nicolas (1998). A Natural History of
Vision. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT
Press, p 301.
Phillips, Jay (private correspondence, 2011,
2012). Provided a copy of Zeiss' catalog Mikroskope für Wissenschaft und Technologie
(Prob. 1951).
Waldsmith, John (1991). Stereo Views: An
Illustrated History and Price Guide. Radnor,
Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book
Company:
Pollinger, Mel (1957). The author's thanks
to Mr. Pollinger, Editor NYMS Newsletter
for permission to reprint the advertisement
from The New York Microscopical Society
(NYMS) Newsletter of 1957 (See NYMS,
1957)
Waldsmith, John (2001). Stereo Views: An
Illustrated History and Price Guide. 2nd
Edition. : Iola WI: Krause Publications: Iola
WI.
Purtle, Helen R. (Second Edition), (1987
reprint of 1951 edition). The Billings Microscope Collection. Second Edition. Washington, D.C.: Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology, p 228, Figure 458 (Catalog number: M- 030.00541, AFIP accession number:
518,969, MIS photograph: 73-3899)
Riemer, Marvin F. (1962) Microscope and
the World of Science. New York: SCOPE
Instrument Corp.
RMS (1898). Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, Volume 18, pp 469-471
Sander, Klaus (1994). An American in Paris
and the origins of the stereomicroscope. In-
Walker, David (undated). This is a short no
frills introduction to stereo microscopes.
http://www.microscopyuk.org.uk/dww/novice/choice3.htm
Walker, David (July 2012) Product review:
A 144 LED ring light for the stereomicroscope (typical model YK-B144T), July 2012,
Micscape
Wheatstone, Charles (1838). Contributions
to the Physiology of Vision.—Part the First.
On some remarkable, and hitherto unobserved, Phenomena of Binocular Vision,
June 21, 1838
Wing, Paul (1996). Stereoscopes: The First
One Hundred Years. Nashua, New Hampshire: Transition Publishing.
18 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Wise, F. C., Francis Edmund Jury Ockenden, P. K.Sartory (1950). The binocular
microscope: its development, illumination
and manipulation. (Quekett Microscopical
Club Monograph) London: Williams & Norgate.
Wimmer, Wolfgang. The author's thanks to
Dr. Wimmer's office at the Carl Zeiss Archiv
Jena, Germany for their help.
Zeiss. (Microscopy, LLC, MicroImaging
Gmb, Jena)
▪ Zeiss (1934) Zeiss 1934 catalog, English
version
▪ Zeiss (1937) Zeiss catalog
▪ Zeiss (1951) Mikroskope für Wissenschaft und Technologie Catalog
▪ Zeiss (1984) Catalog 41-603-e
▪ Zeiss(1984-GDR) GSM Stereo Microscopes Publication # 30-735-1
▪ Zeiss (2006) Innovation #17, The Magazine from Carl Zeiss
▪ Zeiss (Undated) Citoplast brochure, East
Germany
▪ Zeiss (Undated GDR-2) GSM GSZ Stereomicroscopes
▪ Zeiss (Undated History) - Two Zeiss
Factories in Germany,
http://corporate.zeiss.com/history/en_de/
corporate-history/at-aglance.html#inpagetabs-4
▪ Zeiss (Undated) Opton catalog,, West
Germany
▪ Zeiss (Undated) Stemi DR, Stemi DV4,
Stemi Stereomicroscopes brochure
▪ Zeiss (1996) 150 Years of Zeiss Microscopes. Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH
Zölffel, Michael (2012). see Orlowski
above.
© 2011 to 2013. Text and photographs (except as noted) by the author. The author
welcomes any suggestions for corrections
or improvement. He can be reached at:
R. Jordan Kreindler
[email protected]
■
Using a pump to remove gasses
EXPERIENCES
De-gassing mounting media before use can reduce air bubble formation.
Neill Tucker
I
have a background in science and
engineering but mainly on the
maths, physics and electronics side.
While I still enjoy tinkering with electronics I had been looking for a hobby
that was science orientated, with a good
practical element and wasn’t going to
break the bank. I was amazed to see
what could be achieved with fairly
modest equipment and some inventiveness.
Suitably enthused, I decided that I
wanted to buy a compound microscope,
which was still quite daunting given the
bewildering array of models available.
During my work in the electronics industry I had used rather nice Olympus
zoom stereo microscopes with video
monitor attachments. The image quality
from these was stunning and I did wonder whether my expectations were going to be unrealistically high. Ideally I
wanted a compound microscope equivalent i.e. Trinocular with some sort of
camera to record images. At this point I
decided to give myself a crash course in
microscope terminology and find out
what makes the difference between a
microscope costing 400-500 Euro
(which was my budget) and one costing
4000-5000 Euro. Like most things, it
seems you get what you pay for, however I suspect there’s a big difference
between peering down a microscope
once in a while for pleasure and spendFigure 1: The Instant Marinater for
creating a vacuum.
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 19
EXPERIENCES
ing all day looking down one for a
living. Imperfections you can put up
with for an hour or two as a hobbyist
might be very tiring and irritating on a
daily basis as a professional.
Generally I found that the price increased as you progressed from monocular to binocular and on to trinocular
types. Higher quality instruments had
higher specification objectives with
more optical corrections included; these
required a more complex arrangement
of lenses and cost considerably more.
To make the most of the objectives and
increase flexibility of use, the illumination systems also became more complex
and therefore more costly. Finally there
were specialist microscopes that used
high quality components in different
configurations to optimise them for different applications, these were usually
the most expensive.
Given the above I wanted to know if
I could buy a Trinocular microscope
with a basic camera attachment for un-
Using a pump to remove gasses
der 500 Euros? After an extensive trawl
of the Internet the answer appeared to
be yes. Whether it would be any good or
not was another question?
The supplier I chose was Brunel
Microscopes in the UK, a specialist supplier of microscopes to industry and
education but who have branched out
into the hobby market with a range of
budget microscopes under the name
Apex. They use Amazon as the online
shop front although they are happy to
deal direct. The advantage of looking on
Amazon is the customer review aspect
and although the majority of reviews
were by non-specialists in the field, the
feedback was very positive.
The microscope I purchased was an
Apex Scholar (322 Euro) together with
an Apex Minigrab camera (56 Euro ). I
have to say I am very impressed, the
microscope is solidly built, smooth to
operate and the image quality is excellent, the money has obviously been
spent on the bits that matter. There are a
20 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Figure 2: De-gassing by heating.
Comparing original (left) and degassed water (right) after treatment
with Vacu-Vin Instant Marinater.
few parts that are clearly lower cost
plastic such as the condenser iris and
filter carrier but you can’t really expect
machined Brass and Aluminium everywhere on budget equipment. The camera is basically a 2MP webcam that
coupled with the software-supplied
gives quite acceptable images for the
money. Again you can’t expect digital
SLR quality images from something
around a tenth of the price.
I’ve had the microscope for about 2
months and the main thing I’ve noticed
as a novice is that there is nothing like
looking down the microscope itself. The
images have a vibrancy and clarity that
is not easy to capture in digital images.
It’s a bit like going on holiday to somewhere with stunning scenery and views,
Using a pump to remove gasses
EXPERIENCES
Figure 3: Heating of water might
result in a clouding. This clouding
can be removed with some vinegar.
you take some snaps, but they just don’t
seem to do it justice.
My advice to anyone thinking of
buying a microscope is get a good quality optical microscope rather than the
USB types. Look for one of a standard
design with a good range of accessories
should you want to upgrade later. As
you look through various vendor’s sites
you soon see the common features within a given budget range. Finally, don’t
get too hung up on magnification, I
borrowed a cheap kids microscope that
supposedly magnified at 100x, 300x
and 600x. While it wasn’t really fair to
compare the two, it did highlight to me
that magnification doesn’t mean much
on its own.
I could see more detail at 40x with
mine than at any magnification on the
kids microscope. Overall there seems
to be bucket loads of stuff to learn about
and an almost limitless supply of things
look at, what a fantastic hobby!
The Pesky Bubbles
As a novice microscopist and itinerant tinkerer it wasn’t long after purchas-
ing my microscope that I tried my hand
at some simple wet-mount and aqueous
mountant slides. Almost as quickly I
discovered the scourge of the would be
slide maker, bubbles, bubbles everywhere. It seemed that no matter how
carefully I dripped, placed and covered
things, there were bubbles. In many
cases the slide started out clear but after
a while bubbles just appeared, within
10-20mins for the wet-mount slides and
within a few hours for the aqueous
mountant.
I remember from my days in the
electronics industry that certain resins
and potting compounds could suffer
from the same problem unless they were
de-gassed. This usually involved storing them under vacuum or heating them
prior to use. I looked at the price of
laboratory vacuum pumps and decided
that I would need to find another method to pull a vacuum. The solution was a
meat marinater from a company called
VacuVin, a company that started by
making vacuum storage stoppers for
wine. The marinater is basically a rigid
plastic storage container with one of the
company’s wine stoppers in the top,
together with a small hand pump. The
pump works like a cycle pump in reverse and seems to pull a good vacuum.
Figure 1 shows the VacuVin device
with a 50 cm ruler for scale.
My first experiment just involved
tap water. One sample was taken
straight from the tap, the other was
boiled for 5 mins and allowed to cool.
The two samples were placed in the
container which was pumped down until the pump wasn’t extracting any more
air. The samples were left under vacuum for just 15 mins and returned to
normal atmospheric pressure. The photo in figure 2 shows the two water samples after removal from the container.
The sample on the left is the un-boiled
water which clearly contained a large
amount of dissolved gas, some of which
has now come out of solution in the
form of bubbles. The sample on the
right appears to have been effectively
de-gassed by the boiling process.
A chemist friend of mine said that
the slight clouding of the boiled water is
due to dissolved salts precipitating out.
Water containing dissolved Carbon Dioxide forms a mild Carbonic acid which
will dissolve mineral salts. Driving off
the CO2 reduces the acidity of the water
and causes the salts to precipitate out.
The precipitate is too fine to be visible
under a microscope but can be cleared
if necessary with a few drops of Acetic
Acid (Vinegar). The photo in figure 3
shows boiled water illuminated from
the side just after a few drops of vinegar
were added, a quick stir cleared the
water completely.
De-gassing mounting media
Further experiments involved leaving my 15 ml jar of aqueous mountant
under vacuum over night, by morning a
number of large bubbles had risen to the
top of the mountant. Subsequent slides
made with boiled water and de-gassed
mountant formed significantly fewer
bubbles over time.
■
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 21
ANTIQUES
Microscopes in Museums
A highly recommended museum with many interesting exhibits!
Oliver Kim
T
he Science Museum and Natural
History Museum in London are
two of the most interesting museums of that I have so far seen. They
are located in Exhibition Road in the
part of London called South Kensington.
I visited both museums on April 14,
2013, in the context of a week-long
school trip, together with 23 of my students and a supporting teacher. I have
already heard that the museums are
quite large and impressive and though
that it would be a good educational
experience of 14-15 year olds. It also
turned out to be a very worthwhile visit
for myself. Seeing the scale and large
number of exhibits of both museums, I
immediately decided, that I will return
1
some time in the future. Both museums
are free of charge.
While my class toured the museums,
spending some time with interactive
science experiments and computer
models, I decided to dedicate the short
time available to the history of science.
After a quick walk through the museum,
I discovered, rather by accident, a museum inside the science museum. A wing
of the building was was dedicated to the
history of medicine. In the following
pages, I simply want to present some of
the microscopes that I was able to find.
The Wellcome Museum of the History of Medicine, is a collection which is
located inside the Science Museum. The
Museum is named according to Henry
Wellcome (1853-1936), who was an
American-born pharmacist and who
collected historical medical objects.
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK, it funds biomedical research.
I was particularly delighted when I
found a brass microscope labeled Microscope used by Louis Pasteur (Fig.
1). Pasteur was the scientist who
proved, using a relatively simple but
well thought-through experiment, that
disproved spontaneous generation and
showed that living things can only come
from pre-existing life.
I was rater surprised by the simplicity of the microscope. In my view this is
a perfect example that even comparatively simple devices are sometimes
2
Figure 1: “Microscope used by Louis Pasteur. Paris, by Nachet, brass and iron,
1860s. This instrument was used by Pasteur in his work on disproving the theory
of spontaneous generation. Inventory A55114.”
Figure 2: Exchangeable objectives (see Fig. 6 for overview picture)
22 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
Microscopes in Museums
3
ANTIQUES
4
5
Figure 3: “American, signed Tolles of the
Boston Optical Works, brass, glass
lenses, c. 1870s.”
Figure 4: “Compound monocular
microscope, English, c. 1890”
Figure 5:
Left: “Hartnack microscope
Paris, by E. Hartnack & Cie, brass, c.
1880.”
Right: “Beck microscope
London, by R. & J. Beck, brass, c. 1878.”
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 23
ANTIQUES
Microscopes in Museums
6
sufficient to make important scientific
discoveries.
I was also able to find three historical microscopes in the Natural History
Museum (Figure 6), which we visited
after the Science Museum.
All of the exhibits were presented in
a display box to protect the rare equipment form dust and from visitors. The
camera’s flash could not be used, as this
would have caused reflections. I therefore had to increase the ISO setting of
the camera, which resulted in much
grainier pictures. The italicized text in
the caption boxes were cited from the
information cards displayed next to the
exhibits.
“A bacteriological laboratory
in 1955”
Having worked in a bacteriological
laboratory myself, I was also fascinated
by the reconstruction of a historic bacteriological laboratory (Figure 8). The
Wellcome Museum of the History of
7
Figure 6: These three microscopes
can be found inside the Natural
History Museum.
“Left - Petrological light microscope
R & J Beck Ltd, London, 1905”
“Middle - Dr Anna B Hastings’
microscope. Carl Zeiss Jena, early
1900s”
Editor’s note: Anna Birchall Hastings
(1902-1977) was a zoologist and a
member of the Natural History
Museum’s staff.
Medicine had several of these exhibits,
including historic surgery rooms.
Much of the lab equipment was
quite familiar to me: 60 years ago they
also had autoclaves for sterilizing
equipment and nutrient media (see image on page 3). I could also see the petri
dishes for growing bacterial colonies
were made of glass and not of plastic. I
also was able to find glass pipettes and
what appears to be a range of stains and
24 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
“Right - Petrological light
microscope. Cooke, Troughton &
Simms Ltd, York, c1983”
Figure 7: “Haemoglobinometer
Jena (Germany), by C. Zeiss, metal
and glass, c. 1910
This model comes complete with a
special portable microscope”
Microscopes in Museums
ANTIQUES
8
Figure 8: Bacteriological laboratory
from 1955. The device between the
two researchers is the light source.
chemical reagents. And yes, sixty years
ago, the lab coats were as dirty as they
are nowadays.
There was one scientific instrument
that I could find in the 1955 laboratory
that I only rarely used during my own
microbiological work: the microscope!
In modern microbiological research,
microscopes (regrettably) are often of
much lower importance for identifying
bacteria. Years ago, microscopes played
a much more central role in bacterial
identification. Nowadays, a much greater emphasis is placed on DNA analysis
and other biochemical methods.
While watching the exhibit, I also
started to feel that modern scientific
discoveries have sometimes become
very abstract and detached from one’s
senses. In many areas of science, personal observation (such as through a
microscope) has given way to analytical
measurements, and reliance on complex
technology. I contemplated how science
has changed over the years, and how it
has remained the same. I forced myself
to move on not to get lost in thoughts.
Figure 9 shows a Gould microscope.
The wooden box also serves as the base
of the microscope. I have never seen
such a construction before and decided
to research this. I discovered that the
Website of the Science Museum has a
database with the displayed objects and
a more detailed description (see links
below). ■
References:
● Natural History Museum: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
● Science Museum: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
● Haemoglobinometer:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=92475
● Gould-type microscope:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=4696
● Louis Pasteur’s microscope:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=5840
The texts in the caption boxes were quoted from the info cards of the exhibits of the museums.
9
Figure 9: “A Microscope made in the
Early 1800s: This chest pattern Gould
microscope was made by Dolland
about 1810, and is the kind of
instrument widely used for scientific
work until the 1830s.”
MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 25
GALLERY
Testate Amoebae
Arcella gibbosa: 87µm, bottom view
(stacked image)
Arcella conica (probably), 81µm, top
view, (imperfectly stacked, as the thing
moved and turned slowly but
constantly)
All images by Hans Rothauscher
www.hans-rothauscher.de
26 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April
March
2013
2012
- Send images to [email protected]
Testate Amoebae
GALLERY
Heleopera petricola: 100µm ,
broad (left) and narrow lateral
view with slit-shaped aperture.
(2 stacked images of same
specimen)
And an interesting Ciliate:
Platycola coelochila. Length of shell
100µm, manual stack of 2 images.
Platycola is a genus of loricated
ciliates. Typically they consist of one,
two or more zooids within a lorica of a
chitin-like material (the Latin word
Lorica literally meaning body armour).
The zooid is usually trumpet-shaped
and may extend far beyond the
aperture. Platycola coelochila
(German: Wärmflaschentier = hotwater-bottle-animal): Usually two
individuals in one lorica.
Sources: A. Warren, Bulletin of the British
Museum (Natural History) Zoology 43(3):
95-108 (1982)
http://biostor.org/reference/11912Dept
Streble, das Leben im Wassertropfen, 2012,
ISBN-13:978-3440126349, page 248.
Send images to [email protected] MicrobeHunter
- MicrobeHunter
Microscopy
Microscopy
Magazine
Magazine
- March
- April 2012
2013 - 27
PRESS RELEASE
iPad Microscope Camera
We want to ignite curiosity and inspire the next generation of scientists.
Exo Labs
E
xo Labs’ new Focus Microscope
Camera™ seamlessly links virtually any microscope to an iPad®. Insert the Focus into the eyepiece
of a microscope, plug it into an iPad,
automatically install our app, and explore. The free Focus App delivers a
broad range of features that make the
device a powerful tool for discovery
and engagement – snap pictures, annotate, measure point-to-point with your
fingertips, pinch and zoom, share via
email, wirelessly connect to a TV or
projector, and more.
As more and more classrooms see
the power of the iPad to enhance the
learning experience, they are also looking for tools to extend that functionality.
One specific area receiving a great deal
of attention and effort is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
(STEM). Microscopes are important
STEM teaching tools, embracing not
only the life sciences, but chemistry,
physics, geology, earth sciences, forensics, or just plain exploring. The Focus
sits at the intersection of these trends,
offering a great solution for teachers
looking for new and exciting ways to
engage and inspire students. It breathes
new life into existing compound and
stereo microscopes. With images so
visible on the iPad, teachers no longer
have to worry whether a student is looking at a cell nucleus or an air bubble.
And interacting directly with the images
on the iPad to perform measurement
and annotation dramatically enhances
student engagement, or as they have
been telling us, “that’s really cool!”
“We’ve received tremendous positive response to the Focus Microscope
Camera,” says CEO Michael Baum.
“Teachers love the way the Focus is
quick and easy set up and use – you
plug it in and it just works. Students are
instantly engaged with the images. We
have also received great response from
higher-ed users, where there is a strong
drive to get back to hands-on lab work.”
Exo Labs listened to teachers, students,
and other key stakeholders to ensure
that features and functionality align
with classroom needs. “We want to
make a real impact. I would love to
have a hand inspiring the next generation of scientists, from any microscope
or macro stand, and readily share
data, is critical to daily workflow.”, says
co-founder and VP of Engineering Jeff
Stewart. Exo Labs also sees strong
potential for use of the Focus Microscope Camera in life science labs and in
manufacturing facilities where the ability to quickly and easily capture photos
or video from any microscope or macro
stand and readily share data is critical to
daily workflow.
Figure 1: The new Focus Microscope Camera from Exo Labs links any
microscope to an iPad, opening up images for exploration.
Figure 2: The new Focus App delivers powerful features like point-to-point
measurement and on-screen annotation. The Focus App can be downloaded for
free at the App Store. (Pictured: Drosophila head with annotations and
measurements)
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28 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013
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iPad Microscope Camera
PRESS RELEASE
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The Focus debuted at the National
Science Teachers Association (April
11-14,
San
Antonio,
TX,
www.NSTA.org) and is on sale now
through the Exo Labs website,
www.exolabs.com.
Exo Labs is launching a Kickstarter
effort on May 9th that will be used to
get the Focus Camera into classrooms,
and provide funds to enhance the capabilities of our app. Exo Labs will make
40 cameras available to schools and
other education partners at no cost. In
exchange we will receive important input that helps guide our development
and keeps us working toward features
that will be most valuable to teachers
and students.
Angel Conference. Exo Labs wants to
ignite curiosity and help teachers inspire the next generation of scientists.
For more information about the Focus Microscope Camera or Exo Labs
please contact George Cawman at (512)
423-8432, or email George at:
[email protected].
Website: www.exolabs.com
Note: Apple and iPad are trademarks of
Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and
other countries. ■
Figure 3: Leaf of a broad bean with
stomata.
Figure 4: Daphnia (water flea).
Cover Picture: Stem cross section.
All images taken by Exo Labs with the Focus
Microscope Camera, on an Amscope M150c
Microscope.
About Exo Labs
Accomplished engineers Michael
Baum and Jeff Stewart started Exo Labs
with the goal to improve science education. This new Seattle, WA company
has already gained acclaim, winning 1st
Place at the 2012 Northwest Entrepreneur Network First Look Forum, the
Cascadia Pitch Summit, and the Seattle
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MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013 - 29
What’s this? Answer on page 3.
30 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - April 2013