MICSCAPE
(ISSN 1365 - 070x)

Exploring the miniature world

Issue 83: September 2002.
Next update October 13th.

Image above by Mike Dingley. The McArthur field microscope with fittings as made by Cooke, Troughton and Simms. 
Microscopy-UK welcomes you to Micscape Magazine

This magazine is best viewed at 1024x768, 24 bit colour.

About Micscape

Issue 83 - September 2002 : Articles this month
Main Menu
Main Index
Projects
Article Library
Beginners
Clubs / Socs (Pro/Am)
Movies
3D Images
Schools
'Microflowers'
Pond life ID kit
Shop
 
 

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

Yahoo groups:
'Microscope
'Microscopes
'Microscopy for kids
'microcosmo' for Italian speaking enthusiasts
'microscopies' for French speaking enthusiasts

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

Newsgroups
sci.techniques.microscopy

Royal Microscopical Society's online forum (follow Forum link)
 
 

Other sites
Beyond for Kids
Beyond Magazine
Light Microscopy Forum
Molecular Expressions
Dennis Kunkel's SEM images
Microscopies
Micrographia
Fun Science Gallery
Gordon Couger's microscopy links

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

Micscape Contacts
Micscape Editor:
Dave Walker
Comments on Micscape and
contributions welcomed.

Microscopy-UK
parent site coordinator:
Maurice Smith
 

Two major new resources are offered this month:



Hold mouse over image so door opens. Then click to enter museum
The Micropolitan Museum of microscopic art forms, curator Wim van Egmond (The Netherlands).
Wim has used his own stunning photomicrographs to create this extensive virtual museum to celebrate the wonderful microorganisms around us. 
Each room is devoted to a major biological group. Why not pop back regularly and use the 'floorplan'  to explore each room in turn? There's plenty to see in the 'Desmid Dome', 'Bacteria Basement', 'Radiolaria Room' ...

 
Microscopy Primer by Frithjof Sterrenburg (The Netherlands). 
The author has generously offered his eight chapter illustrated book as a valuable online resource. It covers both practical and theoretical aspects of the compound microscope with plenty of practical tips, with particular reference to diatom observation.
It can be viewed online, or downloaded as a 1.3 MByte zip file for offline browsing / printing.

Articles

Accessories for the McArthur microscope Mike Dingley (Australia) illustrates and discusses some of the impressive accessories that were available for the famous field microscope which Cooke, Troughton and Simms made to the McArthur design.

Field videomicrography An Open University McArthur microscope + battery powered webcam = video microscopy in the field with a laptop! John Walsh (Australia) describes this ingenious setup which gives surprisingly good stills and video clips.

Tintinninae No, not a further adventure of the cartoon character 'Tin Tin', but a delightful illustrated look at a less well known group of protozoa with bell-like shells. By Jean-Marie Cavanihac (France).

Drawing your microscopic subjects. Part 1- Drawing from the screen of your computer  In this article,  Walter Dioni (Mexico) describes a drawing technique using image captures as a basis for drawing. His own and published drawings of the protozoan Euplotes euristomum are used as an example.

Biodiversity David Richman's (USA) studies of the amazing diversity of spiders in certain habitats prompted this thought provoking essay on biodiversity from his own perspective.

The beginner's microscope? Paul James (UK) looks at the old toy microscope of a good design which inspired his interest in microscopy, with his thoughts on the toy microscopes then and now.

The mucus belts of the Oscillatoria Wan Yu (China) describes and illustrates a simple but effective way of staining and observing the mucus trails left by these microorganisms.

Image gallery: Living protozoa portfolio Jim Evarts (USA) shares some impressive images of living protozoa which he has photographed with electronic flash.

Topical tips 11: Adding a lamp diaphragm (or field stops) to a modern microscope without one Some modern microscopes in the budget to medium price class do not have a lamp diaphragm. Ian Walker (UK) describes simple methods to control the light field and hence improve such a microscope's performance.
 
 

Please note: The Micscape Editor's e-mail contact has changed in July 2002.

Contacting authors: If any reader has problems contacting authors using the site's new e-mail script, please check the E-mail FAQ.
Beyond Magazine June 2002 This sister magazine uses cutting edge Web technology to present science and nature, including microscopy, in both a fun and educational way.
 
We are delighted to receive contributions small or large from microscopy enthusiasts. 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
Look for that elusive article on our site:
Manual Search  (category search in our new extensively revised listing)
Automated Search  (keyword search)
Contributor index  (a list of all Micscape contributors to date)
News - special notices - misc.
'A catalogue of portable microscopes' on CD-ROM compiled by Mike Dingley is now available from the author. Click here for details and how to order. Mike has a special interest in portable microscopes and has created this CD as a valuable resource.
Microscopy-UK and Micscape - established 1995
  Copyright ©1995 - 2002, Microscopy-UK and Onview.net Ltd. Articles and material are copyright of our contributors.
Micscape is a free magazine for enthusiasts funded by Microscopy-UK and dedicated to non-commercial microscopy.