The purpose of this book is to provide the most comprehensive, easy-to-use, and informative guide on light microscopy. Light and Video Microscopy will prepare the reader for the accurate interpretation of an image and understanding of the living cell. With the presentation of geometrical optics, it will assist the reader in understanding image formation and light movement within the microscope. It also provides an explanation of the basic modes of light microscopy and the components of modern electronic imaging systems and guides the reader in determining the physicochemical information of living and developing cells, which influence interpretation. Brings together mathematics, physics, and biology to provide a broad and deep understanding of the light microscope Clearly develops all ideas from historical and logical foundations Laboratory exercises included to assist the reader with practical applications Microscope discussions include: bright field microscope, dark field microscope, oblique illumination, phase-contrast microscope, photomicrography, fluorescence microscope, polarization microscope, interference microscope, differential interference microscope, and modulation contrast microscope

Ever since television became practical in the early 1950s, closed-circuit television (CCTV) in conjunction with the light microscope has provided large screen display, raised image contrast, and made the images formed by ultraviolet and infrared rays visible. With the introduction of large-scale integrated circuits in the last decade, TV equipment has improved by leaps and bounds, as has its application in microscopy. With modem CCTV, sometimes with the help of digital computers, we can distill the image from a scene that appears to be nothing but noise; capture fluorescence too dim to be seen; visualize structures far below the limit of resolution; crispen images hidden in fog; measure, count, and sort objects; and record in time-lapsed and high-speed sequences through the light microscope without great difficulty. In fact, video is becoming indispensable for harnessing the fullest capacity of the light microscope, a capacity that itself is much greater than could have been envisioned just a few years ago. The time seemed ripe then to review the basics of video, and of microscopy, and to examine how the two could best be combined to accomplish these tasks. The Marine Biological Laboratory short courses on Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy in Biology, Medicine, and the Materials Sciences, and the many inquiries I received on video microscopy, supported such an effort, and Kirk Jensen of Plenum Press persuaded me of its worth.

Light and Video Microscopy, Third Edition provides a step-by-step journey through philosophy, psychology and the geometrical and physical optics involved in interpreting images formed by light microscopes. The book addresses the intricacies necessary to set up light microscopes that allow one to visualize transparent specimens and, in the process, quantitatively determine various physico-chemical properties of specimens. This updated edition includes the most recent developments in microscopy, ensuring that it continues to be the most comprehensive, easy-to-use, and informative guide on light microscopy. With its presentation of geometrical optics, it assists the reader in understanding image formation and light movement within the microscope. Provides a fully-revised, updated resource on three-dimensional (3D) structures Contains a new appendices on Diffraction Theory and Advanced Image Processing Provides practical applications, lab exercises and case studies on the mathematics, physics and biology used in microscopy Discusses bright field, dark field, phase-contrast, fluorescence, interference, differential interference and modulation contrast microscopes, oblique illumination and photomicrography

This book offers a beginner’s guide to using light microscopes. It begins with a brief introduction to the physics of optics, which will give the reader a basic grasp of the behaviors of light. In turn, each part of the microscope is explained using clear and simple English, together withdetailed photographs and diagrams. The reader will learn the function, care and correct use of each part. A troubleshooting section also helps resolve some of the most common issues encountered in light microscopy. Most people have a general idea of how to use a microscope, but many never get the full benefit, because they receive no training. With easy-to-follow steps and detailed images, this guide will help everyone achieve the best results, and be confident using their microscope. This book is intended for anyone using a light microscope, such as university students, people in lab environments, hobbyists, educators who teach science to young children, and anyone with a general interest in these valuable tools.

This is a straightforward and comprehensive guide to the practical use of the light microscope for the examination of biological specimens. Written in an informal style, it aims to be a readable explanation of all the types of light microscopy currently in use in the modern biological laboratory. It is designed to be used at the bench, next to the microscope. Theoretical explanations are kept to the minimum necessary to support the practical information.

The compound optical microscope, in its various modern forms, is probably the most familiar of all laboratory instruments and the electron microscope, once an exotic rarity, has now become a standard tool in biological and materials research. Both instruments are often used effectively with little knowledge of the relevant theory, or even of how a particular type of microscope functions. Eventually however, proper use, interpretation of images and choices of specific applications demand an understanding of fundamental principles. This book describes the principles of operation of each type of microscope currently available and of use to biomedical and materials scientists. It explains the mechanisms of image formation, contrast and its enhancement, accounts for ultimate limits on the size of observable details (resolving power and resolution) and finally provides an account of Fourier optical theory. Principles behind the photographic methods used in microscopy are also described and there is some discussion of image processing methods. The book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in the biomedical sciences, and it will be helpful to students taking a course involving the principles of microscopy.