Articles by Kathy Brasch on ArticleSnatch.com

Automatic bench top digital refractometer for testing beverages

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 04:54:40 -0500

The soft drink industry produces beverages such as fruit juice, energy drinks and carbonated drinks. One of the key factors in producing these beverages is maintaining consistency between batches of their product for quality control and process control. In order to keep this consistency the manufacture needs to test the product to determine the total concentration of water-soluble solids (Brix value). For practical purposes the Brix value is generally interpreted as sugar content because soft drinks contain only very small amounts of other ingredients, with the majority being sugar. Testing of the Brix value is usually performed using a refractometer, preferably a digital refractometer. Digital refractometers provide a higher degree of accuracy and precision as compared to hand held analogue refractometers. Some digital refractometers can also be connected to a computer and/or printer via an RS232 serial port for documentation of test results as performed at processing sites, quality control rooms or research and development labs. Automatic bench top digital refractometers have extra added features which include a thermo-module to control the temperature of the product, thus eliminating the need for a constant temperature water bath. The measurement starts automatically after the sample reaches your targeted temperature. **End Summary** Topics: salinity solution]]> pal refractometers]]> PAL carrying case]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes . The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers .

Salinity Measurement

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 04:48:24 -0500

Measurement of the level of salinity in soy sauce, ketchup, dressing, soup, seasonings, pickled juices of vegetables, etc. is indispensible for quality control. One of the key factors in producing these products is maintaining consistency between batches of their product for quality control and process control. In order to keep this consistency the manufacture needs to test the product to determine the total concentration of salt. Highly concentrated samples such as soy sauce need to be diluted so that the value reads lower than 6% before testing the sample. Various types of saltmeters can also be used for testing the concentration of natural or artificial seawater in marine research, fishery research, fish farms, fish tanks and aquarium management. Moreover they are used for controlling the concentration of saltwater used for preserving fish, meat, cheese, etc. When measuring natural seawater you have to take into account other various kinds of salty ingredients such as magnesium chloride, calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate contained in natural seawater. The measurement value of seawater expresses the total content of these salty ingredients in the value. **End Summary** Topics: refractometer salinity]]> salinity tester]]> salt refractometer]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes . The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers .

Refractometer Applications

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:57:02 -0400

In the world of refractometers there are many different models and styles. They can measure a wide variety of products from many different industries. Products include, but are not limited to: Brix (Sugar) Refractive index Specific gravity Salt Clinical samples Industrial machine cooling oil Moisture in honey Hydrogen peroxide Antifreeze and coolants and much more Almost all fruits such as apples, mandarin oranges, tangerines, pears, grapes, melons, grapefruit, etc. are measured for Brix value at orchards. Fruit growers in general sample measure the Brix value of fruits before harvesting in order to optimize the harvest time for shipping just as the fruits are about ready to eat. In addition to fruit growers, Brix scales are widely used in various facilities of agriculture cooperatives for sorting and grading fruits by Brix value as well as for controlling and uniforming fruits in quality and grade. Moreover, Brix refractometer scales are also used for researching the relationship between sugar content in fruits and environmental factors such as the kinds of and quality of fertilizer, height of the fruit tree, water content of soil during the growing., Harvest time, variety of fruit, etc. **End Summary** Topics: Refractometers]]> Atago refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers.

Immersion Oil

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:32:17 -0400

As magnification increases on a microscope the correction in refractive index is a requirement for finer resolution and brightness. As the light cone passes through the different layers of glass, sample mounting media and air light tends to bend at different angles. In most cases the sequence of the light leaving the substage condenser is glass (1.515nD), air (1.00nD), glass slide (1.515nD), sample, mounting media, cover slip (1.515nD), into the objective lens which is approximately 1.515nD. Immersion oil has a refractive index of 1.515nD and is applied to the top of the cover slip and then the tip of the oil immersion objective is then immersed into the drop of oil. This completes the “optical connection”. The resolution obtained is directly related to the angular aperture (AA), the larger the A.A. having a wider cone with more scattered (oblique) rays. Unless there is a homogenous light path, the most oblique rays are lost to internal reflection inside the glass slide or cover slip. The use of immersion oil permits full use of the resolving power of the objective lens. **End Summary** Topics: Cargille oil immersion microscope]]> Cargille oil immersion]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers. Buy Cargille Immersion oil to increase the life of your microscope. Shop for cargille immersion oil

Immersion Oil Use in Compound Microscopes

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:40:03 -0400

As magnification increases on a compound microscope the correction in refractive index is a requirement for finer resolution and brightness. As the light cone passes through the different layers of glass, sample mounting media and air light tends to bend at different angles. In most cases the sequence of the light leaving the substage condenser is glass (1.515nD), air (1.00nD), glass slide (1.515nD), sample, mounting media, cover slip (1.515nD), into the objective lens which is approximately 1.515nD. Immersion oil has a refractive index of 1.515nD and is applied to the top of the cover slip and then the tip of the oil immersion objective is then immersed into the drop of oil. This completes the “optical connection” so to speak. The resolution obtained is directly related to the angular aperture, the larger the A.A. having a wider cone with more scattered (oblique) rays. Unless there is a homogenous light path, the most oblique rays are lost to internal reflection inside the glass slide or cover slip. The use of immersion oil permits full use of the resolving power of the objective lens. **End Summary** Topics: immersion oil]]> Cargille oil immersion microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes . The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers. https://www.nationalmicroscope.com/microscope-immersion-c-73_77.html

Properly Setting up Koehler Illumination

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:32:53 -0400

You have heard of the term Koehler illumination. What is it and what does it do for the microscope? Koehler Illumination is a process which provides optimum contrast and resolution by focusing and centering the light path and spreading the light evenly over the field of view. All microscopes do not have the ability to be setup for Koehler. They must have a field diaphragm and controls to adjust the substage condenser to complete the alignment. Using the following setup, Koehler Illumination can greatly compliment the operation of your microscope by improving the specimen contrast. a. Rotate to the 10X objective. b. Open the condenser aperture diaphragm by turning the control to the right. c. Raise the condenser with the condenser focus knob. d. Close the field diaphragm to it's smallest opening with the field diaphragm control. e. Focus the field diaphragm image with the condenser focus knob until the edges on the octagonal images are sharp. f. Center the diaphragm image with the condenser centering screws. This centers the light path onto the specimen plane. g. Switch to desired objective. h. Enlarge the field diaphragm image toward edge of the field of view with the field diaphragm control. i. **End Summary** Topics: Microscope Illuminators]]> Microscope Lab Equipment]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes . The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers. https://www.nationalmicroscope.com/microscopes-vanguard-c-125.html

Digital Cameras for Microscopes

Fri, 14 May 2010 02:12:21 -0400

Since the introduction of digital photography with a microscope, many techniques have been developed regarding image enhancement or modification, information extraction and the procedural ease of which to accomplish capturing extremely high resolution photographs with computers and software. The days of using 35mm film, capturing many images of delicate volatile samples only to find out you had a setting wrong, the lighting was incorrect or the film was too old and all the pictures that you had developed were bad is now pretty much a thing of the past. Except for a few microscopist that still use film, digital is the choice of most microscope users. The heart of every digital camera is the CCD or CMOS Sensor. The larger the sensor, the more light sensitive it is. Resolution is one of the most important areas concerning the choice made on obtaining a digital camera. Digital images are made up of millions of tiny squares called picture pixels. These tiny pixels are used to display images, and the more pixels there are the higher the resolution the image becomes. This is an important consideration when trying to capture the very detailed, colorful images from a microscope. **End Summary** Topics: microscope camera]]> digital microscope camera]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, microscope digital camera.

Stereo Microscope

Tue, 11 May 2010 06:13:42 -0400

Stereo microscopes or dissecting microscopes are one in the same instrument – the name is often used interchangeably. They are used for looking at specimens with a three dimensional view. In reality stereo microscopes are like having two compound microscopes looking at the focus point of reference at slightly different angles, thus creating a three dimensional image. The magnification level is much less than that of a standard upright compound microscope. Magnification for stereo microscopes is usually in the range of .7X to 50X. However, there are upscale models that will magnify to higher levels up towards 300X with when accessory lenses are added. The magnification points can be fixed, stepped or zoom depending on the model and the desire of the user. There are many different stand designs available for stereo microscopes such as the pole stand, rigid arm stand with or without built in illumination. Boom stands can also be used to get the microscope above and over larger objects for examination, and may have articulated arm stands. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo microscopes]]> microscope camera]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing abbe refractometers, refractometers, inverted microscope and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, stereo microscopes.

Inverted Biological Microscope

Tue, 11 May 2010 06:03:05 -0400

An inverted biological microscope system is designed upside down as compared to a standard upright microscope. The sample is normally placed on the stage but the objectives lenses are under the stage, and the condenser lens is over the specimen. This design is required for samples that are suspended in some type of liquid and housed in a Petri dish, biological bottle, 96 well plate or other similar container. Contrast is a concern with inverted biological microscopes as the specimen cannot be stained - the specimen is usually suspended in a some type of liquid. Due to this fact, different contrast techniques are introduced into the light path of the microscope. They include phase contrast, Hoffman Modulation Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC). These different contrast techniques create the ability to see transparent or living cells or microorganisms and sub-cellular particles. With the addition of Hoffman or DIC the specimen takes on a three dimensional view. There are several options available with most inverted biological microscopes such as camera systems and fluorescence illumination. Camera options include 35mm, video or digital camera systems. **End Summary** Topics: microscope]]> microscopes]]> refractometer]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> microscope seattle]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, biological microscopes.

Meiji Microscopes

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:10:07 -0400

Meiji Techno Co., Ltd. is the third-largest manufacturer of optical microscopes in Japan. In 1964, Azuma Optics Co., Ltd. was founded as a contract manufacturer of microscopes and quickly established a reputation for high quality and fast delivery. In 1975, the company reformed into Meiji Techno Co., Ltd. and began selling microscopes directly to the public under the name Meiji Techno. Originally a manufacturer of educational microscopes Meiji Techno has since extended product lines into the industrial, laboratory, and higher education markets. Meiji products are sold throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas by agents or distributors authorized by Meiji Techno Co., Ltd., or the American subsidiary Meiji Techno America. Some of Meiji’s product line includes stereo, compound, inverted, metallurgical gemological and video microscopes. It also offers an accessory selection that includes 35mm, video and digital cameras, filters, illuminators and many more options. For many applications the ability to capture, display, and preserve specimen images is of equal or greater importance than actually viewing the specimen through the eyepieces. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> meiji microscope]]> meiji stereo microscopes]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, meiji microscopes.

Microscope Maintenance

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:32:02 -0400

Customers often ask what they can do when they have problems with lubrication and focusing problems with their microscopes. Here are a few questions along with our suggestions: Question: What product should I use to lubricate the bearings on the stage of the microscope? Answer: Each manufacture has their own line of lubricants they recommend. If you bought everyone for each product it would be extremely expensive. We use a product called Super Lube made by Permatex. It should be available from many stores in your area. We use this product on all brands of microscopes that we service. Question: My stage seems to slip down out of focus for no reason. What can I do to prevent this? Answer: There are two main reasons for this problem. Either the tension control is too loose, or the main bearing system in the stage mechanics needs some adjustments. You, as the microscope user, can adjust the tension control. Many microscopes have focus tension controls attached next to the coarse focus control. This control may be the simple type that you can adjust by just using your hand, or it may take a special tool. **End Summary** Topics: microscope maintenance]]> microsocpe service repairs]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, microscopes.

In-Line Refractometers

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:27:49 -0400

In-Line refractometers are designed to monitor and control the concentration of dissolved solids or water soluble liquids in your process lines. These instruments can be incorporated in piping of manufacturing plants, liquid mixing devices, and washing apparatuses to continuously measure the concentration of various liquids. In-Line refractometers are suitable for use in the control of mixing, concentration, fermentation, and control of the concentration of water-based or alkali-based detergent, etc. The light from an LED source is transmitted by a fiber optic onto one side of a measuring prism and internally reflected to the interface of the prism and the sample liquid. A portion of this light beam is reflected back onto the opposite side of the prism at an angle which depends on the refractive index of the liquid at the interface. The position of this reflected beam, as it exits the prism, changes with the angle of reflection (which depends on the refractive index of the sample). A linear diode array is used to accurately detect the varying position of the reflected beam, and this position is calibrated with respect to refractive index. **End Summary** Topics: refractometers]]> in-line refractometers]]> atago refractometers]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, in-line refractometer.

Cleaning Your Microscope

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:22:03 -0400

Customer often ask what they can do to keep their microscopes clean and in good working condition. Listed below are some questions raised along with our suggestions: Question: What can I use to clean the lens on my microscope? Answer: Lens cleaning fluids are the best. Use lens paper if available - the type for reading glasses works well. We suggest not using kleenex-type tissue as it is very "dusty" and will leave a lot of lint on the lens. Make sure the first tissue is wet with lens cleaner in case there are bits of glass from the slides on the lens that scratch it. Question: What do I use to clean the body of the microscope? Answer: We have tried many products over the years but have found that 409 cleaner seems to do the best job and does not damage the finish. Try not to get it into the bearings on the stage or focus assembly as it will dilute the lubrication. Question: Lint seems to be a real problem on the eyepieces. How do I remove it without always having to use lens cleaner and papers? **End Summary** Topics: microsocpes]]> microscope services repair]]> cleaing microscpe]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, microscope.

Antifreeze Refractometers

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:16:59 -0400

Low temperatures leading to freezing conditions can, if not managed correctly, often result in serious damage to plant and equipment, chillers and engine cooling systems. System blockages, cracked pipes and unwanted fluid loss can be expensive both in terms of operational down-time and ultimate repair or replacement costs. It is therefore essential that systems are properly protected and antifreeze levels are periodically tested. Testing of antifreeze concentrations for automotive and industrial applications has been made easier by the use of antifreeze refractometers. The antifreeze/battery refractometer is designed for testing the refractive index or concentration of battery fluids, antifreeze liquid and cleaning fluids that works on the critical angle principle. Antifreeze refractometers utilize lenses and prisms to project a shadow line onto a small glass reticule inside the instrument, which is then viewed by the user through a magnifying eyepiece. In use, a sample is sandwiched between a measuring prism and a daylight plate. The reading is taken when a shadow line crosses the scale from the shadow line formed between the illuminated area and the dark area then a shadow line crosses the scale. **End Summary** Topics: antifreeze refractometers]]> refractometers]]> atago refractomet]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, antifreeze refractometers.

Metallurgical Microscopes

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:06:16 -0400

A metallurgical microscope is an optical microscope which differs from other microscopes in the method of specimen illumination. Since metals are opaque substances they must be illuminated by frontal/reflected lighting, therefore on metallurgical microscopes the light source is located within the microscope tube. This is achieved by a plain glass reflector installed in the tube. The image quality and its resolving power are mainly determined by the quality of the objective. The common magnification of a metallurgical microscope is in the range of 50x – 1000x. Metallographic microscopes are used for a variety of applications such as semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturing, inspection and quality control, crystallography, and analysis of sand castings in iron metal foundries. They can also be used for metallic grain microstructure analysis and identification, measurement of thin films, microscopic analysis of opaque surfaces, study of prehistoric stone age tools and artifacts, historical preservation, the study of metallurgy, and metal patina analysis. There are two designs of metallurgical microscope: upright and inverted. The upright microscope is used for examining smaller specimens mounted on slide material. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> metallurgical microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, metallurgical microscope

Clinical Microscopes

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:32:26 -0500

Clinical microscopes are used in many different fields such as hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, veterinarians and genetic research laboratories. Within the hospital environment the clinical microscope is used in many different departments such as laboratory, cytology, pathology, gynecology, microbiology and immunology. A clinical microscope usually is referred to as a compound microscope. This means there are many different components within the design. A clinical microscope components include, but is not limited to, eyepieces, body, stand, stage, base, objectives and electrical system. Total magnification ranges from 4X to 1000X using standard objectives of 4-10-40-100X oil. Most models are called upright clinical microscopes meaning the user looks into the eyepieces that focus downward at a slide on the stage. These are the microscopes most people remember using in school. Some clinical microscopes are inverted. This means the optics are reversed or up-side down so the user may examine a sample suspended in a fluid in a Petri dish. The user still looks down into the eyepieces but the lens system is inverted and looks up at the sample from below the stage. **End Summary** Topics: clinical microscope]]> microscopes]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, clinical microscope

Inverted Microscopes

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:51:00 -0500

Most microscopes that you see in a typical laboratory environment are compound microscopes. They are designed with objectives on a rotating nosepiece mounted above the stage, and the light source and condenser below the stage. They are most commonly used for viewing samples that have been fixed to a flat slide. In certain applications it is necessary to look at live, unfixed samples. A more practical microscope design to use is the inverted microscope. An inverted microscope is a microscope with its light source and condenser on the top, above the stage pointing down, while the objectives and turret are below the stage pointing up. Inverted microscopes are useful for observing living cells, tissues or organisms at the bottom of a large container (such as a tissue culture flask). This allows you to examine the specimen under more natural conditions than on a glass slide, as is the case with a conventional compound microscope. You can place a Petri dish or other container on the stage and view the samples from below, thus not disturbing their more “natural” states. **End Summary** Topics: microscope]]> microscopes]]> refractometer]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> microscope seattle]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers, microscopes and inverted microscope. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, inverted microscope.

Abbe Refractometers

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:33:47 -0500

Refractometers are measuring instruments which put the phenomenon of light refraction (bending) to practical use. They are based on the principle that as the density of a substance increases (such as when sugar is dissolved in water), its refractive index rises proportionately. Refractometers were devised by Dr. Ernst Abbe, a German/Austrian scientist in the early 20th century. The prism in a refractometer has a greater refractive index than the sample solution. Measurements are read at the point where the prism and solution meet. With a low concentration solution, the refractive index of the prism is much greater than that of the sample, causing a large refraction angle and a low reading. The reverse (lower refraction angle and higher reading) would happen with a highly concentrated solution. Abbe Refractometers are a type of refractometer used for measuring the refractive index of solid samples, such as glass, plastics and polymer films. There are two detection systems for refractive index: transparent systems and reflection systems. Hand-held refractometers and Abbe refractometers use transparent detection systems, and digital refractometers use reflection detection systems. Abbe refractometer readouts can be either digital or analogue. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> light microscope]]> microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> There are two detection systems for refractive index: transparent systems and reflection systems. Hand-held refractometers and Abbe refractometers use transparent detection systems, and digital refractometers use

Brix Refractometers

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:29:51 -0500

You often hear the term brix and brix refractometer when testing samples for sugar content. Just what is a refractometer? A refractometer is an instrument that measures the refraction of light through a substance. The refractive index becomes higher in a substance of higher concentration. A refractometer has a wide variety of uses such as measuring sugar concentrations and liquid concentrations. Refractometers are sometimes called “Sugar concentration meters” or “Density meters” depending on the application. Brix and refractive index are common measurement scales for refractometers. A refractometer that measures brix is referred to as a Brix Refractometer. When measuring solutions that have multiple ingredients the Brix value equals the total concentration of dissolved solids. About the Brix (%) Scale Brix (%) shows the concentration percentage of the soluble solids content in a sample (water solution). The soluble solids content is the total of all the solids dissolved in the water, including sugar, salts, protein, acids, etc., and the measurement reading is the sum total of these. Basically, Brix (%) is the number of grams of cane sugar contained in 100g of cane sugar solution. When measuring a sugar solution, Brix (%) should perfectly match the actual concentration. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> light microscope]]> microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing brix refractometer, refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, brix refractometers .

Used Microscopes

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:24:45 -0500

Remember back to your school days when you first saw amoeba swimming around in pond water? You thrilled to seeing the microscopic organisms moving around, bumping into each other. Now you want to share that memory with your children or grandchildren as they grow. But you don’t want to spend their college money on a new high-priced microscope, so what can you do? No problem – you can now find many microscopes that are either used or demo models at a much more reasonable price. But first you need to determine what type of a used microscope you want: compound or stereo/dissecting. The most common microscope is the compound microscope. It is the one most people visualize when they think about microscopes. It comes with one eyepiece called a monocular; two eyepieces called a binocular or it might have an additional camera tube and is called a trinocular. It has a number of objectives (the lens closest to the object being viewed) of varying magnification mounted in a rotatable nosepiece. It uses a light source beneath the stage to illuminate slides. These microscopes are generally used to view very small objects such as cells or bacterium mounted on slides. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> light microscope]]> microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing microscopes, refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, microscopes .

Principals of Refractometers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:12:57 -0500

Water is placed in a reservoir. When a pencil is dipped into the water, the tip appears bent. Now put concentrated sugar water into a cup and try the same thing. The tip of the pencil should appear even more bent. This is the phenomenon of light refraction. Refractometers are measuring instruments in which this phenomenon of light refraction is put to practical use. They are based on the principal that as the density of a substance (e.g. when sugar is dissolved in water), it's refractive index rises proportionately. (Detail With Image on Blog – Microscopes) When a straw is placed into a glass of water, the straw appears bent. Now if a straw is placed in a glass with water containing dissolved sugar, the straw should appear even more bent (see illustrations). This phenomenon is known as the principle of light refraction. Refractometers are measuring instruments which put this phenomenon of light refraction to practical use. They are based on the principle that as the density of a substance increases (e.g. when sugar is dissolved in water), its refractive index (how much the straw appears bent) rises proportionately. Refractometers were devised by Dr. **End Summary** Topics: refractometers]]> abbe refractometers]]> brix refractometers]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers , abbe refractometers, brix refractometers Visit: Blog - Microscopes

How a Polarimeter works: A more detailed explanation

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:48:20 -0500

Light waves as it travels. As shown in Figure 1, light may seem to travel unidirectionally. In actuality light travels in all directions as shown in Figure 2. (Detail With Image on Blog - Microscopes) When light, which waves in all directions, goes through a grating placed in its course of travel, only the light wave that oscillates in the direction parallel to the bars of the grating passes through, Light waves that oscillate in other directions get blocked by the bars of the grating. ( Figure 3 ) Such light, which waves in one particular direction, is called polarized light, and the grating is called a polarizing plate. When polarized light travels through in a polarimeter an observation tube filled with a sample solution that does not make light rotate (water, for example), the light continues to wave in the same direction even after passing through the solution. ( Figure 4 ) In contrast, when it travels through in a polarimeter an observation tube filled with a sample solution that makes light rotate (sucrose solution, for example), the light wave begins to rotate as it passes through the solution. (Figure 5) This is called optical rotation. **End Summary** Topics: digital microscope]]> polarimeter microscope]]> polarimeters]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, digital microscope, polarimeters microscope polarimeter supply. Visit: Blog - Microscopes

How A Polarimeter Works

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:40:43 -0400

The Simple Explanation Imagine tying a piece of thick rope to a hook in a wall, and then shaking the rope vigorously. The rope will be vibrating in all possible directions - up-and-down, side-to-side, and all the directions in-between - giving it a really complex overall motion. Now, suppose you passed the rope through a vertical rectangular hole, like this: []. The rope has a really tight fit in the hole. The only vibrations still happening at the other side of the hole will be vertical ones. All the others will have been prevented by the hole. What emerges from the hole could be described as "plane polarized rope", because the vibrations are only in a single (vertical) plane. Now look at the possibility of putting a second hole on the rope. If it is aligned the same way as the first one, the vibrations will still get through. But if the second hole is at 90° to the first one (so horizontally), the rope will stop vibrating entirely to the right of the second hole. The second hole will only let through horizontal vibrations - and there aren't any. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo microscope]]> microscope camera]]> refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> light microscope]]> microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing polarimeters, refractometers and microscopes.The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers, polarimeters .

Choosing A Microscope: Compound or Stereo microscope?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:16:26 -0400

to see and what you want to do with that image will determine what kind of microscope you need. Microscopes typically come in two types: compound or stereo microscope. The most common is the compound microscope. It is the one most people visualize when they think about microscopes. A microscope with one eyepiece is called a monocular microscope; with two eyepieces it is called a binocular microscope, or it might have an additional camera tube and is called a trinocular microscope. The compound microscope has a number of objectives (the lens closest to the object being viewed) of varying magnification mounted in a rotatable nosepiece. It uses a light source beneath the stage to illuminate slides. These microscopes are generally used to view very small objects such as cells or bacterium. Magnification of compound microscope scopes range from 40X up to 1000X. Actual magnification can be figured by multiplying the power of the eyepiece by the power of the objective lens. The other type of microscope is called a stereo microscope or dissecting microscope. It uses two eyepieces and two paired objectives. **End Summary** Topics: microscopes]]> stereo Microscope]]> microscope camera]]> refractometer]]> brix refractometer]]> vanguard]]> clinical microscopes]]> light microscope]]> microscope]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> National Microscope Exchange has been in business since 1991, selling and servicing refractometers and microscopes. The service staff has 30 years of experience with microscopes, and is the authorized United States service facility for Atago brand refractometers. Contact: Kathy in Customer Service National Microscope Exchange 1-800-851-7635 FAX (425) 788-3563 http://www.nationalmicroscope.com