Rotifer (short video)

[gekko]

(Illumination: differential interference contrast.)


(Please click on vimeo to watch it full size.)

[charlie g]

The crystaline texture of this rotifer takes me fondly back to childhood days of visiting the NyC: Museum of Natural History.

In a huge displlay, life in a drop of pond water is depicted by blown-glass protists, algae and protozoa alike...each organism made by hand of blown glass!

Years latter as a young adult, I visited Harvard U. Peabody Museum, a botanist/artist has displayed there blown glass plant specimens. I see here in this sequence, the DIC background in ambient light ( unlike your 5/22/15 amoeba DIC image where the ambient back ground is dark).

Is it as simple as rotating the substage polarizer to alter the ambient background light, gekko? charlie guevara

[gekko]

Many thanks, Charlie, for your always interesting comments and for sharing your pleasant reminiscences and experiences. You raise an interesting point: I have not tried rotating the lower polarizer as it is fixed, but I can remove it from the condenser slot and put it over the field lens where I can rotate it. I expect that that would reduce the DIC effect, and probably decrease the contrast. But, as I indicated in my reply in the other thread, I can decrease the contrast by moving the DIC prism. It is a matter of using good judgement, which sometimes I don't manage to do . Anyway, a lame excuse that I'll use is that I took the amoeba photo when I first got the DIC microscope in 2012, and I guess I was aiming for maximum DIC effect with my new toy.

[75RR]

An excellent example of why DIC (and their owners) are at the top of the microscopist's food chain.

[charlie g]

Hi again, 75RR and gekko. I have an Olympus stand with a 40X DIC prism+objective...I purchased the complimentary 40X substage prism filter...cobbled with a substage polarizer...I think I achieved: 'poor mans DIC'.

I used the shell of a freshwater seed-shrimp (Ostracod species)...I ran the setup and image captures up the flag pole a few years ago in another forum...sigh, no coments, no opinions of wether I had achieved: 'DIC contrast'.

Now that gekko has opined about altering the level of DIC effect...I hope to drg out the setup...aquire some fresh image captures...and perhaps...gulp have you kind folk comment of the images (is there DIC..vrs. Pol contrast in the images?).

tonight in finger lakes/US we are expecting frost!!! charlie guevara

[gekko]

An excellent example of why DIC (and their owners) are at the top of the microscopist's food chain.

[gekko]

Hi again, 75RR and gekko. I have an Olympus stand with a 40X DIC prism+objective...I purchased the complimentary 40X substage prism filter...cobbled with a substage polarizer...I think I achieved: 'poor mans DIC'.

I used the shell of a freshwater seed-shrimp (Ostracod species)...I ran the setup and image captures up the flag pole a few years ago in another forum...sigh, no coments, no opinions of wether I had achieved: 'DIC contrast'.

Now that gekko has opined about altering the level of DIC effect...I hope to drg out the setup...aquire some fresh image captures...and perhaps...gulp have you kind folk comment of the images (is there DIC..vrs. Pol contrast in the images?).

tonight in finger lakes/US we are expecting frost!!! charlie guevara

Sure, it is a pity not to get your setup working. Initially you can try it on a prepared slide that you may have in order to set it up. I hope you don't get too much frost. But cold weather is good for setting up your DIC indoors .

[Rodney]

That is a very remarkable video.

Rodney

[75RR]

An excellent example of why DIC (and their owners) are at the top of the microscopist's food chain.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

Why sad?
It was a compliment!

[vasselle]

Bonjour Gekko.
Très belle vidéo.
Cordialement seb

[gekko]

75RR,

seb, thank you very much!