I enjoy making crystals to study in polarized light during the cold winter days in Canada when temperatures reach down to - 30 C as the ponds are frozen.
I am attaching some pictures and I also posted an article on my web site where I explain how to make the crystals for those new to photographing crystals, alng with references.
Cannabis is legal in Canada so I thought I would try making some crystals - which I s till need to work on as I can't produce them consistently.
https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... light.html
Crystals photographed in polarized light with a full wave retardation plate - details of how they were prepared are on my web site.
Crystals of amino acids, caffeine and THC
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Re: Crystals of amino acids, caffeine and THC
Hi Rob,
amazing colours, and perfectly captured textures!
amazing colours, and perfectly captured textures!
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Re: Crystals of amino acids, caffeine and THC
I have a question Rob,
On your website you said you used Scotch tape for retarder / wave plates (bottom of this page) https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... light.html
Are you referring to the red label transparent Scotch tape? All I have on hand is double-sided (yellow) and magic tape (green) which don't work. I do have 11mm wide tape of unknown brand that does work but was hoping to find wider tape.
https://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/p/ ... ear-tapes/
On your website you said you used Scotch tape for retarder / wave plates (bottom of this page) https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... light.html
Are you referring to the red label transparent Scotch tape? All I have on hand is double-sided (yellow) and magic tape (green) which don't work. I do have 11mm wide tape of unknown brand that does work but was hoping to find wider tape.
https://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/p/ ... ear-tapes/
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- Posts: 78
- Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:03 pm
- Location: Santander
Re: Crystals of amino acids, caffeine and THC
hi:
As retarder, for increase the rainbow effect in crystals microphotos, you can use different materials: mica sheets, plastic films (the celophan used as envelope of different products), or proper optical retarders (better 1 wave or lambda plates; the good ones are very expensive, hundreds of euros, oriented to cuantitative analisys of substances and christography, far from your needs, don´t wate your money in them).
To check the efect of the optical retarder, you can see what color produces turning the retarder between two linear polarizer sheets in cross position (no need of microscope; the position of polarizers must give you a dark image, with the retarder will apear one color.
One easy way to check is to put a linear polarizer sheet in front the screen of your laptop, oriented for get a dark image, and introduce then between the screen and the polarizer the material that you want to check as reatarder: look for vivid and uniform colors.
Try to use a clear and clean sheet of retarder material for avoid artifacts in the image get in the microscope. This is why the Scott tape, despite it´s a retarder, isn´t the better material compared with another no cost materials you can test.
I put the retarder sheet over the linear polarizin filter that is over the field lense, far from the condenser iris for avoid the effect in the image of any damage in the retarder sheet.
I get celophane film free asking for it in a flower shop...
In the expensive and oriented microscope polarizing systems, the analyzer, over the objective nosepiece and below the binocular head, have a slot for introduce different retarders/compensators : 1/4 or full wave, a quartz wedge (I have got one from PZO "cheap", for about 45 euros) that give you a variable retarder between the two orthogonal polarized ligth beams, or other variable retarders (Bereck and others).
Try and check
Regards
JA
As retarder, for increase the rainbow effect in crystals microphotos, you can use different materials: mica sheets, plastic films (the celophan used as envelope of different products), or proper optical retarders (better 1 wave or lambda plates; the good ones are very expensive, hundreds of euros, oriented to cuantitative analisys of substances and christography, far from your needs, don´t wate your money in them).
To check the efect of the optical retarder, you can see what color produces turning the retarder between two linear polarizer sheets in cross position (no need of microscope; the position of polarizers must give you a dark image, with the retarder will apear one color.
One easy way to check is to put a linear polarizer sheet in front the screen of your laptop, oriented for get a dark image, and introduce then between the screen and the polarizer the material that you want to check as reatarder: look for vivid and uniform colors.
Try to use a clear and clean sheet of retarder material for avoid artifacts in the image get in the microscope. This is why the Scott tape, despite it´s a retarder, isn´t the better material compared with another no cost materials you can test.
I put the retarder sheet over the linear polarizin filter that is over the field lense, far from the condenser iris for avoid the effect in the image of any damage in the retarder sheet.
I get celophane film free asking for it in a flower shop...
In the expensive and oriented microscope polarizing systems, the analyzer, over the objective nosepiece and below the binocular head, have a slot for introduce different retarders/compensators : 1/4 or full wave, a quartz wedge (I have got one from PZO "cheap", for about 45 euros) that give you a variable retarder between the two orthogonal polarized ligth beams, or other variable retarders (Bereck and others).
Try and check
Regards
JA