Thursday, September 30, 2010

Microscopes For Biological Research


Microscopes are essential devices in the field of scientific research. With the help of microscopes designed for biological research, analytical studies can be carried out with enhanced efficiency and accuracy.

Superior Models Available in the Industry

Understanding the specific requirements of researchers, a variety of advanced models of microscopes that can be used for performing diverse biological studies are offered by renowned manufacturers including LW Scientific, Unico and others. The popular models include Revelation III-S Semi-Plan Trinocular with Eyepiece, M5 INFINITY LabScope Plan Trinocular, M220FL Monocular Microscope - Fluorescent, and M250 Binocular Microscope among others.

Designed with Innovative Features

To ensure the users effortless operation, microscopes designed for biological research applications are integrated with a range of advanced features. These include:

? Five position nosepiece

? 10 X/20 high point plan eyepieces (enables easy viewing of large specimen areas)

? Parallel optical path for better clarity

? 50-75 mm interpupillary distance range

? Binocular head objectives

? Fine adjustment range of 22μm

? Coarse adjustment range around 20 mm

? Tension adjustment knob

? 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 100x infinity plan objectives

Microscopes for biological research are provided with portable NA 1.25 Abbe condenser, halogen light, Iris diaphragm, dual slide holder and stage locking lever. Most of them come with accessories including spare bulb, blue, green, yellow filters, 2 amp fuse, immersion oil, dustcover and operation manual. Further, the manufacturers provide one year warranty for electronic components and life span assurance for materials and workmanship as well. These microscopes are obtainable in numerous sizes varying in length, width, height and weight measurements.

Buy the Best from Competent Dealers

When buying microscopes for your biological research laboratory, it is essential to find competent and experienced suppliers in the field. Such dealers can provide you complete technical support and assistance in buying the perfect model satisfying your unique requirements and budget.








Block Scientific is the affordable source of fine Medical Laboratory Equipments. We stock high quality branded microscopes including Biological Research Microscopes.


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Parts and Functions of a Light Microscope (Part II)


A primitive microscope was invented in 1590 in Middelburg, Netherlands, by the eyeglass makers Hans Lippershey, Zacharias Jansen and his father Hans Jansen. Further, Galileo Galilei improved the instrument by using a set of aligned lenses and called it "occhiolino", what means "little eye". In 1625, Giovanni Faber named Galileo Galilei's "occhiolino" as a compound microscope and this name remains until today.

The optical microscope, the most common type of microscope, contains several parts with specific functions. Observe the picture and find their functions.

1. Eyepiece: contains the ocular lens, which provides a magnification power of 10x to 15x, usually. This is where you look through.

2. Nosepiece: holds the objective lenses and can be rotated easily to change magnification.

3. Objective lenses: usually, there are three or four objective lenses on a microscope, consisting of 4x, 10x, 40x and 100x magnification powers. In order to obtain the total magnification of an image, you need to multiply the eyepiece lens power by the objective lens power. So, if you couple a 10x eyepiece lens with a 40x objective lens, the total magnification is of 10 x 40 = 400 times.

4. Stage clips: hold the slide in place.

5. Stage: it is a flat platform that supports the slide being analyzed.

6. Diaphragm: it controls the intensity and size of the cone light projected on the specimen. As a rule of thumb, the more transparent the specimen, less light is required.

7. Light source: it projects light upwards through the diaphragm, slide and lenses.

8. Base: supports the microscope.

9. Condenser lens: it helps to focus the light onto the sample analyzed. They are particularly helpful when coupled with the highest objective lens.

10. Arm: supports the microscope when carried.

11. Coarse adjustment knob: when the knob is turned, the stage moves up or down, in order to coarse adjust the focus.

12. Fine adjustment knob: used fine adjust the focus.

Visit my blog for the next article: theory and application of light microscopy.








Fabio L. C. Pacheco invites you to visit Microbiology Online. If you liked this article, you will also enjoy Microbiology Online. It's all about great tutorials in industrial microbiology, focusing on pharmaceutical microbiology labs.


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

ProScope 100X Lens for the ProScope Mobile Wi-Fi Wireless Handheld Digital Microscope

ProScope 100X Lens for the ProScope Mobile Wi-Fi Wireless Handheld Digital MicroscopeSoft and thin paper * 100 sheets per book * 4 x 6 *

Price:


Click here to buy from Amazon

Some Things You Should Know About Dissecting Microscopes


Dissecting microscopes are used for examining small organisms, fine dissection work and demonstration. You cannot use them to examine biological samples like cells. They are generally used to view larger samples and usually have a magnification power of less than 100x. The parts of this type of microscope include an eyepiece, a tube, a knob for adjusting magnification and focus, an arm, auxiliary lens, a stage plate and the base. The specimen is kept on the stage plate to be viewed.

These are usually used in schools for educational purposes. They can also be found in biological or research laboratories for examination and demonstration purposes.

The Parts

The tube of the microscope has an eyepiece on the top fitted with a lens to look through. There will also be a nose piece to support your nose in order to keep your head steady while using it. There is an objective lens at the bottom part of the tube. You will have to fit an objective lens depending on the type and size of the specimen you wish to view. You have to fit them depending on the sharpness of focus that you will need. You will need to use a finer focus for really small specimens.

There will be two more lenses in the condenser. These are light condensing lenses and are required to adjust the magnification of the microscope. The condenser is placed above the stage of the microscope. The stage is where the slide with the specimen is placed. The stage should be an adjustable one which can be maneuvered without you having to remove your eyes from the eyepiece.

The stage is placed above the diaphragm. The diaphragm controls the amount of light falling on the specimen. The light can either be transmitted from below the stage or above. It could be of many types but the fluorescent type is the best as it emits more light and less heat. You are able to see the magnified image of the specimen due to the manipulation of the light's reflection on the specimen.

Taking Care Of Them

All microscopes need to be handled with care and stored carefully. Dissecting microscopes need to have their lenses cleaned on a daily basis with a soft cloth so that they remain smudge and dust free. You should not allow any dampness to come on them so they should be kept away from water. Whenever you are not using them, you should keep them covered with dust covers. Microscopes need to be kept spotlessly clean. Any speck of dust on the lens can affect their proper functioning.

You must be very careful when picking up and carrying a microscope. It is imperative that you hold it with both hands. This way you can avoid bumping it into things or dropping it. If you drop it, the alignment of the stage and lenses can get ruined. Microscopes can be rather expensive so it is better to take proper care of them so that you can use them for much longer. You can get different accessories for microscopes. The best thing to do is to buy a case in which you can store the microscope and its accessories so that they do not get dirty or damaged.








I hope you found this article helpful! To discover essential advice for buying microscopes for children, and to uncover the little-known steps involved in changing a microscope light bulb, then be sure to check out: http://www.MicroScopesGuru.com/


Monday, September 27, 2010

Student Microscopes


Student microscopes are small and inexpensive light microscopes. Student microscopes are a must for schools and educational establishments that have any kind of science on its curriculum.

Compound microscopes are the usual microscopes used for teaching. There are many types of these microscopes, but the most used one has dual eyepiece for viewing by two students or student and teacher. Student stereo microscopes are a bit more expensive and give three dimensional images. These are great tools for viewing all sorts of specimens and are useful for students of higher levels, who need specific studies.

Student microscopes have user-friendly designs with a mechanical construction designed to withstand vigorous, everyday classroom use. Most microscope models feature high quality DIN standard optics and anti-tamper safety features including locked on eyepiece and stage clips. Most student microscopes also have slip clutch on the coarse focus movement to prevent over focusing and an adjustable focus stop to prevent damage to glass micro-slides and objective lenses.

All student microscopes will not have the same standard; there are some basic, less expensive microscopes for younger students and advanced and more expensive models for higher grades. Most student microscopes have a selection of objectives, often two or three, having 10X and 40X lenses. Thus the usual magnification power ranges form 100Xto 400X. But in some with third objective of 100X, the magnification power goes up to 1000X. The lighting systems may vary between less inexpensive Tungsten bulbs, more expensive fluorescent lights and halogen lamps.

Purchase student microscopes only from specialist microscope suppliers. As there is an increased chance of damage because of inexperienced hands, always purchase from a provider who offers good repair service. Purchasing in bulk quantities often gives large reductions. Bargain with the companies to reduce their price. Try to sign an agreement with a company that will give you discounts for fixing and maintaining your educational microscopes while keeping costs as low as possible, and reductions for every additional purchase. Always look for offers of free shipping.








Microscopes provides detailed information on Microscopes, Electron Microscopes, Parts of a Microscope, Compound Microscopes and more. Microscopes is affiliated with Reverse Osmosis Water Filter.


Sunday, September 26, 2010

SE Mini Pocket Microscope 60x -100x

SE Mini Pocket Microscope 60x -100xMINI Pocket Microscope. One of our best selling items! Very compact and reliable, and uses 3 flat-cell batteries that are included. Bright LED Light that keeps things clear and the focusing dial allows correct focusing as well

Price: $9.95


Click here to buy from Amazon

Telescopes For Astronomy - Help in Choosing the Right One Using Simple Mathematics


The most important thing that needs to be considered before purchasing any telescope, especially if you are new to astronomy, is what you are going to use the telescope for. With this in mind, it is not always obvious that the physical properties of a telescope should be closely related to your requirements.

Two of the most important parameters associated with astronomical telescopes are the aperture (the diameter of the main objective lens or mirror) and the focal length (the distance from the objective lens or mirror to the point where the image is formed). With a little simple mathematics, you can easily calculate the values of these parameters to help you choose the best telescope for your needs.

Telescope Aperture

The telescope aperture is representative of what is usually described as the physical 'size' of the telescope. The bigger the aperture, the more light gathering ability the telescope has. For example, a recommended aperture for a really useful first telescope would be at least 100mm for a refracting telescope, or 150mm for a reflecting telescope. Using these figures, we can then calculate how faint an object an observer would be able to see:

The entrance pupil of the human eye can reach approximately 8mm in diameter when fully adapted to the dark. This is equivalent to an area of 50 square millimetres (50mm 2). The refracting telescope having an aperture of 100mm in diameter has an area equivalent to approximately 7850mm 2.

The 100mm aperture telescope is therefore capable of collecting 7850/50 = 157x more light, which is then available through the telescope eyepiece. In other words, looking through the telescope will enable an observer to see objects which are 157 times fainter than could be seen with the unaided eye.

Following the same calculation, the 150mm aperture reflecting telescope would enable the same observer to see objects which were 353 times fainter than could be seen with the unaided eye.

Clearly then, if you want to observe faint star fields or galaxies and nebulae, then a bigger telescope aperture is certainly better. If you have a particular object in mind which you would like to see, then knowing how faint it is should allow you to then 'work backwards' with the above calculation, to determine if the telescope you have would be suitable.

Telescope Focal Length and Magnification

The focal length of the telescope is representative of either the physical 'length' of the telescope, or its optical configuration. A short focal length will give a wide field of view (the area of night sky that can be seen), with the objects in that field of view appearing small, whereas a long focal length will give a narrow field of view, but with the objects appearing larger.

The magnification of the telescope is the result of a combination of the focal length of the telescope itself, and focal length of the telescope eyepiece. A telescope of a certain focal length will produce an image of a certain size, which is fixed and will not vary. The eyepiece, effectively used as a microscope, then views that image. A larger image to start with allows the eyepiece to produce a higher magnification. So, by changing the eyepiece, the magnification of the telescope can also be changed.

For example, a recommended focal length for either a refracting or reflecting telescope would be at least 1000mm.

Using this figure, we can then calculate the following:

An eyepiece of long focal length, say 25mm, will produce a magnification of 1000/25 = 40x.

An eyepiece of short focal length, say 10mm, will produce a magnification of 1000/10 = 100x.

Using the same calculation, the same eyepieces used on a telescope having a focal length of 1500mm would give magnifications of 60x and 150x respectively.

Telescopes with long focal length are ideal for observing the craters on the moon or the features of the brighter planets.








About the author:

Steve West is a systems engineer, astrophysics graduate and lifelong enthusiast for all things to do with space. For more advice on telescopes, telescope accessories and educational gadgets including home planetariums, visit: http://www.squidoo.com/telescopes-for-sale