Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Interactive Tutorials

Hollow Light Cone Numerical Aperture

This tutorial explores how the shape and size of the hollow cone of light emitted by a hypothetical reflecting darkfield condenser changes with numerical aperture.

To operate the tutorial, use the slider to adjust the size and numerical aperture of the light cone. The darkfield condenser is drawn to resemble a paraboloid-style condenser that would normally have a fixed numerical aperture determined by the geometry and proximity of the reflecting surfaces. For the purposes of this tutorial, we have modified the light path through the condenser to mimic changes in numerical aperture that do not correlate with the actual shape of the condenser. Therefore, the tutorial should not be perceived as a true relationship between light cone numerical aperture and condenser geometry.

Contributing Authors

Mortimer Abramowitz - Olympus America, Inc., Two Corporate Center Drive., Melville, New York, 11747.

Matthew J. Parry-Hill and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.


BACK TO DARKFIELD MICROSCOPY

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Thursday, Feb 25, 2016 at 04:11 PM
Access Count Since June 16, 1999: 27212
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: