Microscopy amusement
Germany has opened up a new amusement park with an interesting theme: Heavy construction. According to Wired (www.wired.com) for around $150, you get to run heavy duty construction equipment for eight hours.
Oh, they have jackhammers and bobcats, but for many the thrill is running D11T’s (www.cat.com/cda/layout/cda/layout?m=237282&x=7&f=227353) and industrial backhoes. Remember building toy roads as a child? Do you stop and watch construction workers unload pipe and pour concrete? Well if so pack your bags for Germany and a fun vacation of heavy labor.
I could help wondering microscopes what I’d pay 150 bucks to play with. Assuming I could get the training first and then play, I came up with a list, and in no particular order:
Scanning Helium Ion Microscope- Good gawd… it’s so hot. Sharper images, higher depth of field, better resolution with a small spot size. Can I get what with EDS?
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope- An oldie, but I’ve always bugged my employers to get me one. I came close at Degussa, but it was an older scope with old technology, at least 20 years old. Pass.
Scanning Tunneling Microscope- I know a couple of people working in that field and I had samples of cross sections of bear labels run at Degussa’s German Lab. I wasn’t impressed with the results I got back, but my friends tell me the results would have been better if I was sitting next to the operator.
Two–Photon Excitation Microscopy- I’ve always liked fluorescence images. They seem so extra ordinary. I started at Goodyear with a AO transmission UV fluorescence microscope. What a dog that one was! I wore safety goggles over my safety glasses and everyone in the lab got headaches within minutes of starting it up. Latter we got a second hand reflected light fluorescence scope. It was missing a lot of filters and I always thought we could have done better if we had everything.
Hotstage with pol scope and digital imaging- Clearly that’s one I’d shell out for, especially if I get the organic chemicals for fusion preps. I think Dr. McCrone popularized this in America. At least, that’s who taught me. After all these years of making fusion preps for fun, I can’t seem to forget that picric acid forms red addition compounds with most aromatic organics. McCrone has the tables to compare the melting point of the organic compound, the addition compound and the eutectics formed. This means you identify the unknown if its in the data base. It should-of-could-of replaced pre-micro sampling IR spectroscopy for aromatic compounds.
I used to take photos with Hoffman Modulation Contrast. It had some problem with artifacts, but the images were much nicer than phase contrast and had a vague 3D look to them. I’d like to revisit that.
Scanning Acoustic Microscopy appeals to me as well, but I’m a poor biologist. Still imaging the internal structure of small living biologics is very high on the cool scale. I’ve wanted to see if I could collect rubber dispersion data from it, and now I wonder what I would see in metal welds.
That my list. Comment back to me and I’ll put your list up.
Frank Karl
Microscopist
Oh, they have jackhammers and bobcats, but for many the thrill is running D11T’s (www.cat.com/cda/layout/cda/layout?m=237282&x=7&f=227353) and industrial backhoes. Remember building toy roads as a child? Do you stop and watch construction workers unload pipe and pour concrete? Well if so pack your bags for Germany and a fun vacation of heavy labor.
I could help wondering microscopes what I’d pay 150 bucks to play with. Assuming I could get the training first and then play, I came up with a list, and in no particular order:
Scanning Helium Ion Microscope- Good gawd… it’s so hot. Sharper images, higher depth of field, better resolution with a small spot size. Can I get what with EDS?
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope- An oldie, but I’ve always bugged my employers to get me one. I came close at Degussa, but it was an older scope with old technology, at least 20 years old. Pass.
Scanning Tunneling Microscope- I know a couple of people working in that field and I had samples of cross sections of bear labels run at Degussa’s German Lab. I wasn’t impressed with the results I got back, but my friends tell me the results would have been better if I was sitting next to the operator.
Two–Photon Excitation Microscopy- I’ve always liked fluorescence images. They seem so extra ordinary. I started at Goodyear with a AO transmission UV fluorescence microscope. What a dog that one was! I wore safety goggles over my safety glasses and everyone in the lab got headaches within minutes of starting it up. Latter we got a second hand reflected light fluorescence scope. It was missing a lot of filters and I always thought we could have done better if we had everything.
Hotstage with pol scope and digital imaging- Clearly that’s one I’d shell out for, especially if I get the organic chemicals for fusion preps. I think Dr. McCrone popularized this in America. At least, that’s who taught me. After all these years of making fusion preps for fun, I can’t seem to forget that picric acid forms red addition compounds with most aromatic organics. McCrone has the tables to compare the melting point of the organic compound, the addition compound and the eutectics formed. This means you identify the unknown if its in the data base. It should-of-could-of replaced pre-micro sampling IR spectroscopy for aromatic compounds.
I used to take photos with Hoffman Modulation Contrast. It had some problem with artifacts, but the images were much nicer than phase contrast and had a vague 3D look to them. I’d like to revisit that.
Scanning Acoustic Microscopy appeals to me as well, but I’m a poor biologist. Still imaging the internal structure of small living biologics is very high on the cool scale. I’ve wanted to see if I could collect rubber dispersion data from it, and now I wonder what I would see in metal welds.
That my list. Comment back to me and I’ll put your list up.
Frank Karl
Microscopist
posted by Searcher12 at
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