Posts that relate to the Keyword: optics

Phase Contrast vs. Bright Field Microscopy

Air is completely transparent, I hope you agree. And water is transparent. If this is indeed the case, then why is it possible to see air bubbles in water? The answer is, that the bubbles have a different refractive index than the surrounding medium, the water. Phase contrast microscopy is now capable of converting a [...]

Dirty microscope objective: Its effect on image quality

The microscopes in the school where I work have been in operation almost 30 years (!!) now. And the fact that most of them have remained usable says quite something about the quality of these devices. They are soon going to be collectively sent in for maintenance, and this is the last opportunity to do [...]

The Condenser Aperture Diaphragm

In this post, the function of the condenser aperture diaphragm is explained. The purpose of the condenser is to concentrate the light onto the specimen, its diaphragm regulates resolution, contrast and depth of field.