Posts that relate to the Keyword: beginner

How to obtain the best resolution with your microscope

The resolution that a microscope is capable of achieving is probably the single most important factor that determines the quality of a microscopic image. Without a sufficiently high resolution, magnification is not possible without loss of quality. Read the following introductory post: . There are a variety of different factors that determine the achievable resolution. [...]

Volvox

Volvox is a fresh water green algae and a member of the Chlorophyta. The picture shows a spherical volvox colony, each ball can contain hundreds, if not thousands of individual cells. The picture shows six daughter colonies inside the main colony. The main colony disintegrates and the daughter colonies are then released. Volvox is a [...]

Q & A: What people searched for

In this post I’d like to address some of the search queries that people typed to find this web site. Naturally people typed many, many more search queries, most of the queries are made of 1 or 2 words. I selected the longer ones for this post. Q: What is the principal advantage of an [...]

What in the world is microbe hunting?

A quick Google search of the term “microbe hunting” revealed 2460 hits, the term “microbe hunter” a mere 21300 hits. The combination of these words with “amateur microscopy” returned a total of… 1 and 4 hits respectively. This is not much. The one returned hit is particularly interesting. It is from Popular Science, September 1934, [...]

Increasing Contrast using Optical Methods

Many microscopic specimens are either very thin or transparent or lack color. They lack contrast and can not be easily seen in bright microscope light. In many cases it is not possible or desirable to chemically stain the specimens. In this case, optical techniques become necessary to enhance contrast.

Electron Microscopes vs. Optical (Light) microscopes

This post outlines the advantages and disadvantages of electron microscopes in contrast to optical (light) microscopes. Each type of microscope is designed for different areas of applications.

Common Beginners’ Mistakes

The following section outlines some of the common beginners’ mistakes when operating a microscope. Teachers are advised to instruct their students appropriately, proper microscope technique will not only enhance the image quality but will also lengthen the life-span of the microscopes.