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Archive for November, 2009

For young children, a stereo microscope is one of the most useful gifts you can provide them with to nurture their curiosity and creativity. Usually, it is of lower power than a compound microscope with magnification levels at approximately 10X-40X. And as children can study whole albeit small objects like flowers, insects and rocks as well as prepared slides under it, they will have fun with the device.

However, children being what they are, you will need to supervise their activities with the microscope. This will ensure their safety and prolong the life of the equipment.

Set-Up

First and foremost, make sure that the microscope is placed on a flat surface, preferably a tabletop, with plenty of room for working purposes. It must be within easy reach of the person using it whilst still securely within the working area’s perimeter. You don’t want your expensive stereo microscope shattering at your feet, do you?

Second, ensure that you plug the microscope into the appropriate outlet. Just follow specification on this matter to avoid mishaps. Plus, make sure that excess cord is safely positioned – think hidden – such that no one will trip on it.

Third, use either the bottom lighting or top lighting of the stereo microscope to have the best view of the target. For opaque objects, use top lighting while transparent objects mounted on slides view best in bottom lighting.

Now that you have properly set up your microscope and work station, it’s time to let your kids enjoy the show.

Use

When placing your specimen under the stereo microscope, use the stage clips when and where necessary. For example, specimens that curl up at the side can be studied better when it lies flat upon the stage.

However, if your specimen is considerably larger than the stage, it’s a good idea to unclip the stage clips. This way, you have more room to work with the specimen under study.

When focusing, you can either turn the focus knob or turn the specimen. The trick is in making sure that the specimen is directly under the objective lens. Plus, be sure to focus as slowly as possible to avoid eye strain.

For small children, you have to supervise them by looking at the eyepiece once in a while. You have to guide them, too, in using the equipment as sudden turns can affect the device’s future performance.

Maintenance

As soon as you are finished using the stereo microscope, you have to turn off the switch, remove the target/specimen, unplug the power cord, and then cover it with its dust cover. All these precautions are necessary to prevent the microscope from faster wear and tear.

And you don’t use just about any cleaning solvent on your microscope either! For the body, use a soft dry cloth to wipe away the dust on the exterior while a non-solvent cleaning solution is best for the lenses’ exterior side and a bulb-type duster for its interior side.

In all these activities, keep in mind that a stereo microscope is a delicate and dear piece of equipment in more ways than one. As such, care must be exercised when using and maintaining it. This way, you and your children can enjoy many more adventures in the world of microscopy!

CanScope – complete solution for all your microscopy needs.
Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

Visit CanScope.ca for your microscope needs. All of their microscopes, from the biological microscopes, to the polarized light microscope to the stereo microscope are a joy to own. Buy now!

When you talk about magnification, lenses, and small things, one thing comes to mind: the microscope. But gone are the days when the term only covers simple and compound microscopes. Today, you hear kinds such as the stereo microscope and the polarized light microscope. There are even biological microscopes and educational microscopes.

Indeed, there are so many updates on the word of microscopes today. If you’ve only known this laboratory instrument from school and never met one ever since, then you’d be surprised at how many different kinds there are already.

So, to update your information bank on the world of microscopes, this article will talk about an interesting type: the stereo microscope. The stereo microscope is also known as a dissecting microscope. This is because this type is mostly used for close work such as dissection, microsurgery and even watch-making.

The Uniqueness

The stereo microscope differs from the other types of microscopes in a lot of ways. First, while others only have one eyepiece (the cylinder containing the lenses and the part that you put your eyes on to see the specimen in question), the stereo microscope has two. Yes, like binocular, the dissecting microscope makes use of two separate optical paths to give you a better view of the specimen. As a result, this feature gives you a three-dimensional image of the sample being examined.

Second, the stereo microscope uses a different kind of illumination. Compound microscopes use transmitted illumination (light “transmitted through the object”) while stereo microscopes use reflected illumination (light “reflected from the surface of an object”). Of course, this makes sense because of the 3D capability of stereo microscopes. Reflected light is very useful when examining objects that are either too thick or that are opaque – in such a case, transmitting light through it would be next to impossible.

The stereo microscope also has two magnification systems: fixed and zoom. Fixed magnification is achieved using a pair of objective lenses with a set magnification degree. Basically, the degree of magnification that you get solely depends on what your lenses are capable of. Zoom magnification, on the other hand, is capable of varying degrees of magnification. Have you ever heard of the terms “zoom in” and “zoom out?” Well, that’s exactly how the zoom magnification in a stereo microscope works.

Stereo microscopes are also capable of digital displays, as in the case of digital microscopes. Having the image projected on a high resolution monitor is very useful especially in surgeries. If you are ever a fan of House and Grey’s Anatomy, then you’ve surely seen one of those episodes where a monitor is used to view the specimen examined under a stereo microscope.

Microscopes have truly gone a long way. Before, only one lens is used; today, microscopes with two optical paths are already in existence. Surely, Anton van Leeuwenhoek did not dream that his “invention” would go this long, and that it would be used outside of biology.

Still, it’s wonderful to know that Science continues to re-invent and to upgrade itself. It’s nice to know that it continues to work better to provide us with better answers. After all, how will we understand the world more if not for Science? How would we know what an atom looks like if not for a microscope?

CanScope – complete solution for all your microscopy needs.
Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

For your biological microscopes needs, visit CanScope.ca. Check out their site too for selections of a stereo microscope or a polarized light microscope.

In school, you were probably able to view specimens using biological microscopes during Lab class. Tissues of different items and other cellular matters were definitely fascinating to see magnified under a microscope. If you were not asked to memorize each and every part of the specimen you were checking, you’d have enjoyed these classes immensely.

In the real world, biological microscopes are used in ways that you will find interesting. They are more than just laboratory equipment that are used to study the components of certain matters. They also serve a higher purpose. They keep our world from being overtaken by pepole with bad intentions and organisms that are naturally programmed to wreak havoc on our fragile lives.

Take it from CSI

If you have seen a single episode of CSI and other crime investigation shows, you will notice that a huge part of investigating a crime involves probing and analyzing objects in a laboratory. Complete with white lab coats and the latest equipment, detectives are able to figure out the pieces of a crime scene. With a few deduction processes and rounding up of witnesses, they are able to find the suspect and close a case. Sounds ideal and exciting and you probably think that this can only happen in movies.

You may be inclined to think that police departments are not entirely high-tech because they are government-subsidized but these laboratories are really a big part of investigating crimes these days. After all, if detectives can employ psychics and other paranormal techniques in solving a case, what makes you think that they will not rely on the steady and consistent results of laboratory analysis? DNA analysis to catch suspects are all the rage these days but we cannot discount the help of biological microscopes in case investigations.

Our police departments today may not have all equipment that is being used in CSI shows but they definitely have microscopes. They use them for analyzing all aspects of a crime scene. When you really think about it, these microscopes are part of the intricate system that helps keep our streets safe.

Keeping the World Free from Little Enemies

Biological microscopes are also used in keeping the whole of mankind safe from viruses and bacteria that can possible wipe out the entire human race. One example that hits close to home is the flu virus. This virus has many strains that affect most of us a few times a year. Not all of these strains have an effective cure or vaccine. With the use of microscopes and other equipment, scientists are able to analyze how these strains behave and which substances can help kill them. Without our ability to study them at a cellular level, our world will not be as safe as it is now. You might argue that we are not really virus-free but you have to admit that there is no Bubonic plague waiting for us at the corner. That is a big deal.

CanScope – complete solution for all your microscopy needs.
Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

There many kinds of biological microscopes in Toronto used in the study of crimes and viruses. Examples are the stereo microscope toronto and the polarized light microscopes in toronto. If you want to know more about them, visit www.CanScope.ca.