Bright field imageexplained

We thank Edmund Industrial Optics for their continued support of the Department of Physics here at Georgetown University.

Bright field imageexample

Edmund Industrial Optics, Inc., formerly Edmund Scientific Company, has been a generous supporter of Georgetown University through two generations of Hoyas: Robert M. Edmund (B’70), his wife, Anne Gwynne Edmund, and daughters Nicole Anne Edmund (B’90), Genvieve Anne Edmund (N’93), and Marisa Anne Edmund (B’98).

Brightfield illumination has been one of the most widely used observation modes in optical microscopy for the past 300 years. The technique is best suited for utilization with fixed, stained specimens or other kinds of samples that naturally absorb significant amounts of visible light. Images produced with brightfield illumination appear dark and/or highly colored against a bright, often light gray or white, background. This digital image gallery explores a variety of stained specimens captured with an Olympus BX51 microscope coupled to a 12-bit QImaging Retiga camera system and a three-color liquid crystal tunable filter.

The optical equipment has been used to develop systems for optical characterization of materials and measurements of interactions of light with matter. For example, components received by the Van Keuren lab are being used to develop a novel instrument for measuring molecular interactions in solution. The equipment not only bolsters our research capabilities, but is also used in teaching labs for upper level undergraduate course in optics.

Edmund Industrial Optics has supported the Department of Physics in innumerable and impactful ways over their many years of philanthropy, providing greater opportunity for our students and professors to explore research opportunities. Among items that Edmund’s support has afforded the Department is specialized optical equipment that has been used in eight different faculty research labs, the Georgetown Nanoscience and Microtechnology Laboratory (GNuLab), and the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology shared research facility.