| optical microscope | <instrument, microscopy> A very ambiguous term since all microscopes involve optics, better to specify light, acoustic, X-ray or electron microscope, etc. (05 Aug 1998) |
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| television microscope | <instrument> A microscope in which the image is observed by a television camera that produces a television display; it is used for quantitative studies, display to a large audience, or examinations in ultraviolet and infrared regions of the spectrum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| electron microscope | <instrument> A microscope (device used to magnify small objects) which beams electrons at and through the object of interest instead of light beams. Instead of a glass lens to bend the light, a powerful magnet is used to bend the electron beam. The microscope can only be operated in a vacuum. This type of microscope provides the greatest resolution of extremely small details available and has been used to see individual atoms in an object or substance. (09 Oct 1997) |
| transmission microscope | <instrument, optics> A microscope in which the image-forming rays pass through (are transmitted by) the specimen being observed. Refers to both light and electron microscopes. (05 Aug 1998) |
| ultrasonic microscope | <instrument> A microscope that has lenses designed to use acoustic energy so that the ultrasonic wavelengths may be utilised; by means of transducers, the information is translated to a form that may be visualised or recorded. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ultraviolet microscope | <instrument> A microscope having optics of quartz and fluorite that allow transmission of light waves shorter than those of the visible spectrum, i.e., below 400 nm; the image is made visible by photography, fluorescence of special glasses, or television; in a scanning instrument the receptor is a multiplier phototube. (05 Mar 2000) |
| field-emission microscope | <instrument, microscopy> Either one of two kinds of point-projection microscopes, both invented by E. W. Muller: (1) The older device (1936) is a specialised cathode-ray tube, employing field-emission of electrons from a negatively charged tip of a very sharp needle in a vacuum, by point-projection of the image onto a positively charged, fluorescent screen. (2) A later device (field-ion-mission microscope, 1950) emits absorbed helium ions from an anode. (05 Aug 1998) |
| field ion microscope | <instrument> Type of microscopy in which the specimen is illuminated with ions, often gallium ions, that are focussed electrostatically. The ions remove components of the specimen, lower atomic masses first. These are imaged and provide information on elemental distribution with a resolution of perhaps 30 nm. (18 Nov 1997) |
| fluorescence microscope | <instrument, microscopy> A microscope illuminated by ultraviolet or blue light so that the object may re-radiate light of longer wavelengths. To protect the eyes, a W-absorbing filter should be provided if not built into the fluorescence microscope. (05 Aug 1998) |
| fluorescent microscope | <instrument> A microscope equipped to examine material that fluoresces under ultraviolet (UV) light. (12 Dec 1998) |
| laser microscope | <instrument> A microscope in which a laser beam is focused on a microscopic field, causing it to vaporise; the emitted radiation is analyzed by means of a microspectrophotometer; at a low intensity the laser is employed as the light source in an interference microscope. (05 Mar 2000) |
| light microscope | <instrument> The most common type of microscope (a device used to magnify small objects or substances) used in laboratories. The device works by passing visible light through a condenser and an objective lens. (09 Oct 1997) |