Numerical apertureofmicroscope

If you want to visualize elastic fibers in your sample, you need to use Verhoeff-van Gieson stain. Find out more about this stain, including how to use it.

Numerical Aperture calculator

Cynthia has a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently Senior Director Program Management at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston.

Do you know what that NA number is on your objective? We walk you through what the numerical aperture is and why it's important.

Are you in the process of shopping around for your first microscope? Congratulations! A microscope can allow you to experience our world from a fascinating new perspective. But before you decide which microscope to buy, it’s important to make sure you find the one that’s best suited to your needs. During your search, you’ve probably noticed that there are two distinct categories of microscopes—stereo microscopes (also known as stereoscopes) and compound microscopes. Today we’ll help you understand what distinguishes these two types of microscopes from one another, and decide which one is right for you.

In part 1, “The Power of STED Microscopy: How Does it Work?” I covered the basics of STED Microscopy: how it works and why you might want to use it. If you now want to do STED Microscopy, the next step is to optimize your sample. In this article, I cover how you can get…

Numerical aperture formula

Compound Microscopes Whereas stereo microscopes are well-suited for viewing relatively large specimens, compound microscopes are designed for viewing specimens at the cellular level on glass slides. Chances are, this is the type of microscope you used in your high school biology class. These microscopes offer a much greater magnification power than stereo microscopes, but they have a much shallower depth of field. That’s why this type of microscope is also known as a “flat field” microscope, which is a term you may remember form our earlier blog entry about microscopes for educational applications. Compound microscopes are also usually equipped with multiple objective lenses that can be rotated to adjust their magnification power.

Numerical apertureofoptical fiber

Stereo Microscopes As their name implies, stereo microscopes use two objective lenses to generate a three-dimensional image. This type of microscope offers a relatively low magnification power and deep depth of field that is ideal for viewing objects such as insects, fossils, flowers and mineral specimens.

Na of a lensformula

Phase contrast microscopy is a light microscopy technique which is primarily used to visualise live cells. Using various filters and condensers, the image produced by phase contrast allows us to see greater detail in live cells and can highlight aspects such as intracellular structures. Keep your cells alive! The best way to view cells is…

If you’re reading our Microscopy and Imaging Channel here on BitesizeBio, you might have heard about the new techniques which fall under the umbrella of ‘Super-Resolution Microscopy’. In her recent article, Cynthia introduced us to the limits of resolution and how this can be overcome. Question time You may have more questions; What are the…

Still have a few lingering questions about which microscope is right for you? Feel free to give us a call or contact us online to speak with a representative at Absolute Clarity & Calibration today!

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Ever since the invention of the first compound microscope by Zacharias Jansen in 1590, our understanding of the microscopic world has grown exponentially. Microscopes have evolved from mere assemblies of magnifying lenses to extremely powerful tools for visualization on the atomic scale. You can find a wealth of information on the workings of a microscope…