Goals

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Dennis
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Goals

#1 Post by Dennis » Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:44 am

I want to not only see an Amoeba. (I just watched them yesterday so I can find them.)
But I want to see one eat somebody. I have a 40X that you mess around with phase contrast, no phase contrast. Taking the camera software and using "Negative."
I can spot them with the 20X but tiny. Really wish I had a 60X.
I have a 97X OIL. Wonder what kind of oil I can use? Will any vegetable oils work?

Another goal- to see Water Bears. I watched about 4 Oliver Kim videos and he suggests finding them in moss. I have a little moss in the yard.

Get someday whatever it takes to video record a rotifer's head whisker things. I can see them real good looking in the microscope's eye pieces but have to fool around with camera resolutions etc... to attempt to capture as well. Not a must do. Just a thought is all.

Dubious
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Re: Goals

#2 Post by Dubious » Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:23 am

The thing about water bears is that the terrestrial ones live on the margin between dry and water--active when wet and in the hibernation stage otherwise; so unless your moss is from an area that sometimes is truly wet, you probably won't find them. Aside from where the moss is found, has a lot to do with where you live..

Dennis
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Re: Goals

#3 Post by Dennis » Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:30 am

Dubious,
Thanks !
This summer was not a drought here but not much rain.
-Dennis

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Wes
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Re: Goals

#4 Post by Wes » Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:49 am

Dennis wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:44 am
Will any vegetable oils work?
Olive oil but only if its extra virgin :lol: srsly tho get actual immersion oil, its not hard to procure.
Zeiss Photomicroscope III BF/DF/Pol/Ph/DIC/FL/Jamin-Lebedeff
Youtube channel

dtsh
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Re: Goals

#5 Post by dtsh » Mon Sep 19, 2022 7:44 am

Wes wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:49 am
Dennis wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:44 am
Will any vegetable oils work?
Olive oil but only if its extra virgin :lol: srsly tho get actual immersion oil, its not hard to procure.
And you may run into the question, "which type of immersion oil?" Type A is recomended for beginners as it's thinner, but Type B oil is perfectly acceptable too, it's just a bit thicker so that one application should serve for several slides.

charlie g
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Re: Goals

#6 Post by charlie g » Mon Sep 19, 2022 6:40 pm

Hi, Dennis, what type of microscope do you have? I have 60X objectives to sell low cost ( I.m finger lakes/NY located). Could you post the type of microscope you have, and the series of objectives you now have. and what type of phase contrast your microscope funtions with? charlie g ( we lived in Bergen Co./NJ ...at NJ/NY border area...really miss the foods down state!)

Dennis
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Re: Goals

#7 Post by Dennis » Mon Sep 19, 2022 6:58 pm

Charlie,
Not sure probably not buying at this time. Just got back to work again.

I have a Olympus BHC phase contrast and a Nikon S Cb

I have videos about my microscopes here-

https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21A ... C6AC252667

The Olympus has PL 10, PL 20, PL 40, DLL 10, DLL 20 (The DLLs are from an old Nikon inverted microscope)

I have others like a Zeiss 16X

My Nikon has a 3 PLANs 10, 20, 40 and a B&L 6 or something.

-Dennis

apochronaut
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Re: Goals

#8 Post by apochronaut » Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:10 pm

Very few oils have a refractive index. above 1.50. Immersion oil is about 1.52. Most oils hover in the vicinity of 1.45 to 1.48. Air is 1.0. In order to achieve the resolution that an oil immersion lens is capable of you need to get as close to that ideal refractive index in the immersion medium as possible. Air provides images that are just garbage and sub 1.52 immersion also brings forth spherical aberration which essentially seems like the image is out of focus.
Corn oil will give you acceptable images but lacking in fine defiinition but since it is still oil why not spend a little of that dough you would otherwise spend on something entirely frivolous on real immersion oil? If you are going to be tightwaddy and prefer to use salad oil, why not dispense with the mess of oil entirely and get a cheap bottle of water soluble glycerin at the drug store. It's about the same refractive index as corn oil and wipes off easily with water.
There is no cure for not using the correct equipment in microscopy. Either do it or suffer the frustration of not doing it.

Dennis
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Re: Goals

#9 Post by Dennis » Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:28 pm

apochronaut,
Thanks. Not right now but I will in the future get some immersion oil.
-Dennis

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imkap
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Re: Goals

#10 Post by imkap » Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:58 pm

I think glycerine is good for a start, easy to clean, cheap and available. I think for a beginner (like me) there are many other (bigger) problems with high mag than the refractive index of oil (e.g. slide preparation), so I opted to use glycerine until I have a real practical reason to use oil.
I'm not sure oil is healthy to play with either, especially with the kids around... :?

Dennis
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Re: Goals

#11 Post by Dennis » Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:55 am

imkap,
Thanks.
Maybe I'll try that for a first tries type of thing. I really don't think I really want that high of magnification. 60X would probably be tops if had that.
Of course I see many of those are OIL as well.
-Dennis

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