Can You Guess What It Is?

[KurtM]

Hint: It has been done here before, and is where I got the idea. All I was waiting for was a suitable sample to come along, and it finally did. Image taken through the 20x objective on the AO120 with incident (top) lighting.

Answer coming up in a little while.

EDIT: I'm posting the answer now, so consider scrolling down a "spoiler alert".

[billbillt]

Styrofoam beads??...

BillT

[zzffnn]

Interesting, Kurt

They look too big for styrofoam beads, to my eyes.
Too even to be mushroom / fungus.
Not transparent enough to look like regular bubbles.

Maybe some special bubbles made from white lipid (like milk) suspended in water?

Any price for guessing it right

[KurtM]

Reflective tape. Wish I could remember who posted the photomicrograph of reflective tape a while back, but I thought it was exceptionally neato, and have been waiting for a suitable specimen to come my way ever since. Well it finally did. This is a different type than the original, but both are lot more interesting than I'd have ever guessed ... had I even even thought about it in the first place. The ensuing Google session I had on how reflective tape is made was quite interesting also.

Here it is again through the 4x objective, and then through the normal camera lens (Canon 15-85, a really superb lens!).

[JimT]

Neat idea.

[gekko]

Very interesting. I would never have guessed.

[billbillt]

Fooled me.. I never would have thought to look at it microscopically..