MICSCAPE - Exploring the miniature world

Issue 273 : December 2018 (ISSN 1365 - 070x) Monthly, next issue January 13th 2019.

    The site webmasters Maurice Smith and David Walker wish our readers and contributors a very happy Christmas and New Year.
    Thank you for your support this past year.


Image by Christian Autotte.

Using a Mobile Phone?
Our Mobile site is here.

Main Menu
Home (Microscopy-UK)
       
Article library / Issue archive
        
Micscape Back Issues


Search site

Beginners

Clubs / Socs (Pro/Am)
 

Micropolitan Museum


Microscopy Primer

Pond life ID kit

Shop

Smallest page on the web

3D Images Online

3D Microscope Online

Pippa's Progress

 
Little Imp CD contents free - old microscope catalogues and books (ex. Steve Gill)

About Micscape

Micscape Contacts
Micscape Editor:
David Walker

Please do not contact the above for image permissions. Each article contributor retains the copyright to their material so should be contacted directly via the link in the relevant article. Thank you.

Comments on Micscape and contributions welcomed.
Contributions: Any modern format welcomed i.e. pdf. doc/docx with embedded images, or html + jpegs.

 

Sand collection for a microscopist - Christian Autotte (Canada) describes and illustrates how to prepare and mount sand samples.  PDF

Experiences with the inclusion of botanical material in PEG - Jaime Padilla García (Spain) describes and illustrates how to use this readily available material.  PDF

3D imaging of diatoms with light microscope. Empirical amateur case report - Robert Hill (UK) shares his trials by combining stacking and software techniques.  PDF

Prepared microscope slides you won’t find on eBay. A whimsy - Richard Howey (USA) discusses a selection of less conventional slide preparations.

Joseph Lister (Father of infection-free surgery) - Mol Smith (UK) presents an essay on this surgeon, prompted by the book he has just read; The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris (published October 2018).

10,000 reasons why you should have a microscope - Richard Howey (USA) presents some arguments for the benefits of owning the instrument.

My own Zeiss Stativ XV - Christian Autotte (Canada) presents an excellent example of this vintage stereo microscope.  PDF

Samples in strawberry red - Alejandro Ariel Garcia Arriaga (Mexico) uses a readily available food dye for staining various subjects. PDF

All I want for Christmas is? Some possible stocking fillers both small and larger for the microscopy hobbyist? - David Walker (UK) offers some suggestions under three figures in cost.

    December 2018 articles written by students for
    the 'Principles and Applications of Photomacrography' course
    offered in the
    Biomedical Photographic Communications (BPC) program
    at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), NY State, USA.

    Micscape Acknowledgements: Many thanks to all the students over the years for sharing their enthusiasm and skills on such a wonderful variety of topics. Writing an article for Micscape initially formed part of their course as an assignment, which was a neat idea originally proposed by Ted Kinsman the course instructor in 2004 and repeated in most following years. Thanks to Ted for all the work behind the scenes to make this happen. Also thanks to Michael Peres, the dept. head (and course instructor 2009) for his introduction and for maintaining the department's generous collaboration over the years. 

    BPC Program Overview by Professor Michael Peres, department head. Visit Professor Peres' website

    Course tutor 2018 Ted Kinsman

    All articles are in Acrobat pdf format and open in a new browser window. Files less than 10 Mbytes unless stated.
    Right click to save to PC and view in Acrobat Reader as may not scale well on a browser's screen.
    If you an enjoy an article, email feedback to an author via address in each article would be very welcome.

     

    Findings in Ferrofluids
    by Lydia Dye

    A Brief Study on Kidney Stones
    by Kristina Kaszei

    Hidden in Chocolate (20 Mb)
    Lea MacKnight

    Click below to view previous RIT student articles

     

     

     

     

    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!

Archive
Look for that elusive article on our site:
Micscape Magazine past issues online
(read articles online using the original illustrated index for each month).
Article Library (browse articles by category)
Automated Search (a search engine for keyword searches in all articles)
Contributor index (a list of all Micscape contributors to date)
News - special notices - misc.

External links. Updated June 2016. 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.photomacrography.net
forums, galleries, articles on macroscopy and photomicrography.

Yahoo groups: a 'P' denotes current and archived messages are public i.e. not limited to members.
Amateur Microscopy P (started November 2008)
Yahoo Diatom Forum P
Microscope P (>1500 members, very active)
Wild M20 microscope
microcosmo (for Italian speaking enthusiasts)
CombineZ P stacking software forum created by the software's author

Facebook groups:
Amateur Microscopy (>1000 members, very active)

Listservers:
Algae-L
'Forum for marine, freshwater and terrestrial algae'. Access to Archives possible for non-subscribers.
Diatom-L 'Research on the diatom algae.' Access to Archives for subscribers only. Link was current March 2016. Many online diatom resources point to an outdated Indiana Univ. listserver. (With thanks to Rob Kimmich for the current link.)

Mikroskopie-Treff.de (Extensive German microscopy forum; some English categories.)
Mikrobiologische Vereinigung München e. V. Wide range of articles and resources in German.
Le Naturaliste French based forum and image gallery for micro / macro but open to non French speaking international contributors.

Other sites (also see Societies and Clubs page.)
Royal Microscopy Society Journal, 'infocus' and other resources for members and the community.
Quekett Microscopical Club Journal, Bulletin and meetings for members.
Light Microscopy Forum links and articles
Little Imp Publications public domain books collated by Steve Gill formerly on CD and now free on Micscape.
Mikroskop Museum German website with resources on microscopes / makers .
Molecular Expressions awesome optical microscopy resources
Dennis Kunkel's SEM images stunning images
Diatoms Ireland - resource site by Leszek Wolnik
Leitz museum an illustrated resource compiled by Robert Allen
Microbe hunter microscopy enthusiast website, forum and magazine edited by Oliver Kim
Microscopies online magazine and Forum for French speakers
Micrographia articles, projects for the enthusiast
Microscopy Today
journal with online archive
Modern Microscopy
online journal by McCrone Group
Fun Science Gallery projects, articles on optics in English and Italian.  
Independent Generation of Research (IGoR) - Wiki style resource for citizen scientists to share their work.
Lens On Leeuwenhoek - extensive resource online by Douglas Anderson
Collected Letters of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek ('Alle de Brieven ..') transcribed and free online at DBNL.
A Cabinet of Curiosities a resource on Victorian microscope slides by Howard Lynk
Klaus Kemp's 'Diatoms' website - offers regional strews and arranged prepared slides of diatoms, an 8 form test slide, radiolaria, insect scales etc and prepares arranged slides on commission.
'Diatoms Ireland' resource by Leszek Wolnik
Historical makers of microscopes and microscope slides Brian Stevenson's extensive resource .
Victorian slide makers
Cambridge rocking microtome resources including manual
www.willemsmicroscope.com Dutch enthusiast Willem Cramer's website
David Jackson's Better Microscopy blog. Regularly updated free resources extending from his 'Better Microscopy' series of books.
Stefano Barone's Diatom Shop
sale of his own prepared and arranged slides of diatoms, radiolaria, forams and scales.
www.testslides.com website devoted to Stefano Barone's Diatom Lab test slides.

Microscopy-UK
parent site coordinator:
Maurice Smith

 
Microscopy-UK and Micscape - established 1995
Micscape is a free magazine for enthusiasts funded by Microscopy-UK and dedicated to non-commercial microscopy.
© Onview.net Ltd, Microscopy-UK, and all contributors 1995 onwards. All rights reserved. Main site is at www.microscopy-uk.org.uk