Bacteria are hard to see under a normal microscope – not just because of their size – but because they’re largely transparent. This makes it difficult to differentiate the bacteria from their background. The solution is simple – make your bacteria less transparent! You can use stains (‘dyes’) to colour your specimens, enhance the contrast and make it much easier to see the bacteria and their internal structures.
Working with microscopes can be surprisingly dangerous. The long hours and repetitive motions frequently lead to pain or injury, which in turn lead to medical costs, understaffing and a loss of productivity. The best way to address these concerns is through ergonomics. By making the workplace safer, you can keep everyone happier and healthier while increasing efficiency.
Darkfield microscopy is a technique that uses oblique lighting and a dark background to illuminate hard-to-see samples. If you’re going to get the best out of your darkfield condenser, you need to make sure it’s properly centred.
With electronic components shrinking all the time, a good-quality Industrial Inspection Microscope is quickly becoming a necessity for electronics repair work. Whether you’re inspecting PCBs or soldering surface mount components, you’ll need a good microscope to make the best use of your talents. Fortunately, there’s a microscope to suit any budget. Here are the most important qualities to consider when you're looking for a microscope that won’t let you down.
Microscope Lighting – Halogen or LED?
If you’re looking to buy a microscope, you might wonder about the practical differences between the two main lighting options – Halogens and LEDs. In most situations they’re both great choices that will perform admirably. However, they do have some differences you should know about.
If you work with 1000x magnification, you’ll be familiar with the annoyance of oil immersion microscopy – the constant cleaning of lenses, stages, slides and your fingers. For many people, those days may be over. In the past few years, 100x dry lenses have become available. These lenses aim to reduce the need for immersion oil by providing a dry image that claims to be 95% as sharp as an oil-based image.
How do you find the exact microscope you need for your school? From pre-school through to high school, microscopes are used by almost everyone. Looking at objects under a microscope gives kids a whole new perspective on everyday objects in their world – plant and animal cells and tissues, blood, and protists like simple algae. While not all microscopes are created equal, you shouldn’t have to struggle to find the right educational microscope for kids of any age.
Size is important – especially when you’re talking about the characteristics of organisms like protozoa, bacteria or sperm cells. There’s no using a tape measure though – you’ll have to get a little more inventive. All you need is an eyepiece with a scale (called a graticule) and a tiny ruler called a stage micrometer. The names may sound scary but there’s no reason to worry! With a little bit of maths, you’ll be calculating tissue and cell size in no time.
Brewing at home and want to up your game? A microscope is just the thing for you. You might know that a microscope is good for yeast counts, but its biggest advantage is being able to check the health of your yeast – the real secret of the best brews! For a good brew, you need a healthy yeast with good viability, good cell count and minimal contamination.
