MICSCAPE
(ISSN 1365 - 070x)

Exploring the miniature world

Issue 115: May 2005.
Next update June 13th.

 

  
Image: Cross section through the hypanthium from a flower of Aptenia cordifolia. Rheinberg illumination, resized montage of 11 images by Walter Dioni.

 


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Issue 115 - May 2005 : Articles this month


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Observations on a common cold - Joe Schuller (USA) discovers that having a cold does have its benefits when he finds interesting ciliates in nasal secretions!

Spike's gallery - I. A selection of aquatic life - Spike Walker (UK) shares some of his striking images in the first in a series of themed galleries.

Snapshots of Jersey - Christina Brodie (UK) shares her impressions of western Jersey with a series of her own attractive drawings of the flora and photographs of the scenery and geological aspects.

Reflections on symmetry in nature - M Halit Umar (Netherlands) presents an illustrated essay on aspects of symmetry in nature that fascinates him.

Oblique darkfield illumination - Tom Webster (USA) shows how this effect can be created using a phase condenser to give excellent imagery.

A circa 1941 Spencer microscope - David Richman (USA) presents an illustrated tour of this still very usable microscope which was previously owned by an amateur diatomist.

'The Rotifera or wheel animalcules' by C T Hudson and P Gosse - Ian Walker (UK) shares some of the stunning illustrations in an overview of this famous book.

A gallery of urea photomicrographs (using polarized light) - Brian Johnston (Canada) continues his series with a striking selection of images of this quite easily acquired chemical.

Aptenia cordifolia. A short illustrated monograph. Part 2 - reproductive organs - W. Dioni (Mexico) shows how a household plant can be used to illustrate many botanical features with the aid of a homemade microtome (a 'mesotome', previously described).

Life in a tree crotch - Paul James (UK) shows a selection of microscopic life that can live in tree pools with examples of these habitats in various tree species.

Notes on using a Minolta 5400 for scanning microscope slides. Comparisons with the Nikon Coolscan design - David Walker (UK) compares the ease of use and results from this modern high performance scanner with an older Nikon Coolscan model.

   

In focus:

New book: 'Guide to the "Secrets" of Transmitted-Light Microscopy' - this is the first book in a planned series entitled 'Better microscopy. A series of practical user's guides.' Written by David Jackson who is a microscopist of long experience, details are available from the Lulu self publishing website. Ring-bound, laminated covers, 96 pages.

'Nikon's Small World Competition' 2005: Entries are accepted up until the end of June 30th for this competition. Microscopy enthusiasts have been well represented in the award winners and honorable mentions of past competitions.

Frank Rowntree meeting, 4th June, 2005, UK  - details of this popular and very successful annual meeting are in the 'News' section below. Information kindly supplied by Mike Smith.

Scanning probe microscopy one day conference 'Nanoscale solutions for research and industry', Leeds University (UK), June 7th. Readers with a professional interest in microscopy maybe interested in this meeting. Samples can be brought along for 'hands on experience'. Three files of information and registration documents are here. Information kindly supplied by Tanya Dempsey.

 

We are delighted to receive contributions small or large from microscopy enthusiasts whether a novice or expert. If you have an image, tip or article, why not share it, this magazine is what you make it! Have a chat with us, to see how we can help share your interests.

Micscape Article Library
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News - special notices - misc.   
    Send us your news and meeting notices of interest to optical microscopy enthusiasts and we will be pleased to share them.

    The Frank Rowntree meeting held by the Leeds Microscopical Society will take place on Sat. 4th June 2005 in Morley nr. Leeds, UK. The venue is the same as for the last few years. Interested persons should send a sae to Mike Smith below or contact him by e-mail. His postal address is 10 Moor Allerton Crescent, Moortown, Leeds LS17 6SH.
    Email: mikesmith_ls176sh@yahoo.co.uk
    (Editor's note: Information kindly supplied by Mike Smith.)

External links. Below are some of our favourites, which includes sites with extensive links and/or resources for the optical microscopy enthusiast.

External Microscopy forums:
Places to discuss the hobby or to raise queries.

www.amateurmicrography.net forums, galleries, articles 
www.photomacrography.net forums, galleries, articles

Yahoo groups:
'Microscope
'Microscopes'
'Wild M20 microscope'
'Nikon Coolpix photomicro and macrophoto'
'microcosmo' for Italian speaking enthusiasts

Mikroskopie-Treff.de
(Extensive German microscopy forum; some English categories.)

Mikrobiologische Vereinigung München e. V. wide range of articles and resources in German.

Newsgroups
sci.techniques.microscopy

Other sites
Beyond Magazine science, microscopy for youngsters
Clubs / Socs (Pro/Am) Mic-UK links page
Light Microscopy Forum links and articles
Little Imp Publications public domain books on CD, 'The Amateur Diatomist' paper magazine

Molecular Expressions awesome optical microscopy resources
Dennis Kunkel's SEM images stunning images
Microscopies online magazine and Forum  for French speakers
Micrographia articles, projects for the enthusiast
Microscopy Today
paper journal with online archive
Modern Microscopy
online journal by McCrone Group
Fun Science Gallery projects, articles on optics
G. Couger's microscopy links extensive links
Society for Amateur Scientists resources and support
www.amateurmicrography.net  articles and other resources

Web rings
Lightscapes polarised light macroscopy/microscopy, both artistic and scientific.

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