Old Diatom Slide From Drawer
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:26 pm
Hi all, a few images to share.
As most know, my area is Botanical, but I've been rummaging through some rarely-opened drawers and boxes in my lab with a view to tidying-up (or at least trying to...).
Anyway I found an old slide with Diatoms on it that I must have acquired with some of the old mixtures I occasionally buy just to 'have a look'... They're not arranged, but are in a 'big mixed slab' as it were, in what I think those here call a 'strew'?
Here are a few images, all with a little PP - mainly a light sharpen and 'cleanup' of the rather mucky background. Using a dry 60x 0.9 objective - I don't have the glorious DIC (couldn't get close to affording this I'm afraid) that produces such incredibly sharp images often seen here, but with brightfield, a little oblique, addidtion of a green 550nm interference filter and shooting in mono, I'm happy-enough with these few.
I don't know the ID/s of these but do plan to add some measurements of their features today; any ideas appreciated.
First one - apologies for the relatively basic images....
Oblique makes this one look concave - I've no idea if this is simply an artefact or an accurate representation of the Diatom's form?
Same type I think.....
Here's a broken one, again no ID I'm afraid.
A bit of oblique/darkfield.
Not sure of the accuracy again of the apparent structure, but interesting.
Measurements - hopefully correct....
UPDATE - WRONG MEASUREMENT - TOO SMALL BY FACTOR OF 4! SORRY.... SEE LATER REVISED VERSION.
Another nteresting view - is the form real though, or an artefact of capture and PP?
As most know, my area is Botanical, but I've been rummaging through some rarely-opened drawers and boxes in my lab with a view to tidying-up (or at least trying to...).
Anyway I found an old slide with Diatoms on it that I must have acquired with some of the old mixtures I occasionally buy just to 'have a look'... They're not arranged, but are in a 'big mixed slab' as it were, in what I think those here call a 'strew'?
Here are a few images, all with a little PP - mainly a light sharpen and 'cleanup' of the rather mucky background. Using a dry 60x 0.9 objective - I don't have the glorious DIC (couldn't get close to affording this I'm afraid) that produces such incredibly sharp images often seen here, but with brightfield, a little oblique, addidtion of a green 550nm interference filter and shooting in mono, I'm happy-enough with these few.
I don't know the ID/s of these but do plan to add some measurements of their features today; any ideas appreciated.
First one - apologies for the relatively basic images....
Oblique makes this one look concave - I've no idea if this is simply an artefact or an accurate representation of the Diatom's form?
Same type I think.....
Here's a broken one, again no ID I'm afraid.
A bit of oblique/darkfield.
Not sure of the accuracy again of the apparent structure, but interesting.
Measurements - hopefully correct....
UPDATE - WRONG MEASUREMENT - TOO SMALL BY FACTOR OF 4! SORRY.... SEE LATER REVISED VERSION.
Another nteresting view - is the form real though, or an artefact of capture and PP?
)
