Tardigrades with Polarized Light

[sleekdigital]

I hope this isn't too noob-ish to post

[DonSchaeffer]

It's amazing. It looks like a real animal, like an insect. It's hard to believe it's microscopic in size.

[sleekdigital]

Thanks!

[75RR]

Nice video! Interesting to see a Tardigrade in polarized light

It's amazing. It looks like a real animal ...

The name Water Bears is a good fit

[Mraster2]

Excellent, facinating, thanks for showing !
Charming little creature

May I ask what lighting you used ? **[edit after seeing 75RR's reply:- or how you did the polarized]
And perhaps how/where you found it, was it in rehydrated moss or something else ?

I am full of questions and when I get my/a microscope sorted out I hope to find one of these little guys (or are they guys&gals? hmmm another question, lol! )

Is this with your 380 that you ask about in Fred's filter topic ?

Thanks.

[sleekdigital]

Thanks for the response! Yeah, this is with the Swift 380. For the first week I had no luck finding any. Then it rained here and I'm finding them all over the place. Almost every slide I prepare has one or more. I have found them in moss from my back yard and in some algae that I sampled from the Delaware canal.

For polarized light, I am just using some old camera filters... one on top of the lamp and one on top of the slide. You just have to get them oriented correctly and to get more things illuminated, open your diaphragm wide. The filter prevents me from using 40x and above, so I'm still looking for a better solution.

[75RR]

For polarized light, I am just using some old camera filters... one on top of the lamp and one on top of the slide. You just have to get them oriented correctly and to get more things illuminated, open your diaphragm wide. The filter prevents me from using 40x and above, so I'm still looking for a better solution.

This should work well for you.

[sleekdigital]

Thanks 75RR! I have actually tried this but still not getting a reasonable result with my 40x objective. The background does not stay dark. Maybe I just need a higher quality polarizer to put in there? I'm just using the plastic linear polaraizing sheets you can cut with scissors. I don't have a glass version small enough to fit in there. I see a few things I could order from edmond optics, but I'm not sure which to buy and if it would improve the result.

[75RR]

The background does not stay dark.

You mean at one point it is dark (extinction) and then it isn't? Might it have moved?

[Mraster2]

For polarized light, I am just using some old camera filters... one on top of the lamp and one on top of the slide.

Ah ! Oh ! I had assumed that the dark/light came from the polarizing and that the colour came from Rheinberg type filters in combo with the polarized,
(and previously, usually, seen polarized with crystals and assumed the colours there came from the chemicals )

Interesting that the tardi colours it that way as well,
thanks.

I ordered some film via ebay , all I need now is to get a 'scope working !

[sleekdigital]

The background does not stay dark.

You mean at one point it is dark (extinction) and then it isn't? Might it have moved?

It's nice and dark with 4x and 10x. But when I move to 40x it becomes much brighter and changing orientation of the polarizers does not help.

[MichaelG.]

I hope this isn't too noob-ish to post

.
Simple response : Wow ! ... I wish I had done that.

MichaelG.

[Mraster2]

I second @MichaelG

Just a thought , might the 40x prob have anything to do with less than perfect enough purity of lineraization ( or whatever the correct term might be ) from the film. If you have spare film might two layers ( aligned not xxed ! ) help the null ?

[KD Arvidsson]

Very interesting to see in polarized light, good job //KD

[Sabatini]

Great work

[shawn perez]

Amazing

[janvangastel]

Interesting. What part if the body are the two bright lines on the head? The brain?

[sleekdigital]

It's mostly the Stylet ... part of the mouth

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I think it's cool just a little water bear raver

[shawn perez]

Amazingg video, can watch them wiggle all day