Objective lenses are the heart of your microscope. To get the best image quality, you’ll need to keep them clean and clear. Here’s a quick guide to cleaning your lenses.
Think of a reticle as a contact lens with a crosshair. But for your microscope, of course. You’ll need a reticle if you want to measure microscopic specimens (and a stage micrometer too, but we’ll get to that). A reticle is a simple instrument – a small glass disc with an unlabelled measuring scale etched into it.
The indispensable cover slip is an important part of microscopy. They protect your samples, protect your microscope from your samples, and generally make things easier to see. But do you always need to use a cover slip, and are you...
Remember when everyone ditched vinyl records for CDs? Well, they’re back – with a vengeance. But while you’re assured of their distinctive charm, how can you be sure you’re getting the best sound quality? In many cases, subpar sound quality can be traced to the angle of your stylus rake (otherwise known as the vertical tracking angle) – or how the needle is placed on the record. If you have an elliptical stylus rake, you can change the angle until you find the sweet spot that you think sounds best.
Live blood analysis involves using darkfield microscopy to observe live blood cells in a fresh sample. It’s a popular naturopathic approach that claims to provide a quick and easy glimpse into a person’s health and wellbeing. While the procedure appears...
Did you know that everyone’s eyes are unique, including the distance between them? So setting up your microscope’s eyepieces correctly is crucial. Fortunately, adjusting the eyepieces to suit your eyes is a quick and easy process. Here’s how to do it.
Inverted microscopes work in pretty much the same way as upright microscopes, they just flip your perspective. The position of the illuminator and objective lenses are simply switched around, so that light now shines down from above, and the objectives are found underneath the stage.
Getting the best out of your trinocular microscope as a photographer can be tricky. If you want to make the most of your camera port, you should first know about beam splitters – what they are and what they do. It controls how much of the light will be shared between your eyepieces and the camera port. There’s only so much light to go around, so this can be important.
Germs spread easily so keep yourself, your co-workers and your family safe with good microscope sanitation. Just as you wash your hands before meals, you should routinely clean and disinfect your microscope to prevent the spread of infection – and to keep your equipment in good working order. This is particularly important in shared work or school environments. Here are some steps for keeping your microscope in good shape while keeping contamination to a minimum.
