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

Darkfield Microscopy
Interactive Tutorials

These interactive tutorials are designed to complement text pages by allowing students to use a web browser to simulate configuration and operation of a microscope under darkfield illumination. Both the theory and practice of darkfield microscopy are addressed by the tutorials.

Specimen Illumination With Darkfield Condensers - This tutorial demonstrates how a specimen interacts with the hollow cone of light emitted by a darkfield condenser. By moving the specimen into and out of the light cone, the student can visualize how light is refracted, reflected, and diffracted into the microscope objective.

Darkfield Abbe Condensers - Explore how a hollow cone of light is produced using a simple Abbe condenser with opaque light stops placed at strategic locations within the condenser. The tutorials allow students to toggle between light stops of different diameters to modulate the size of the light cone.

Hollow Light Cone Numerical Aperture - High numerical aperture reflecting darkfield condensers produce hollow light cones having a broad range of numerical apertures. This tutorial allows the visitor to adjust the light cone numerical aperture in a virtual paraboloid condenser.

Darkfield Condenser Adjustment - Students can practice focusing a specimen and adjusting the opaque stop size and condenser position with this interactive tutorial. Sliders control focus, condenser translation both vertically and laterally, and light stop size, demonstrating the effect on image quality resulting from a wide range of configurations.

Catadioptric Darkfield Reflected Light Objectives - Discover how light that is diffracted, refracted, and reflected by a specimen enters the front lens of a darkfield objective in reflected light microscopy.

Contributing Authors

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

Kirill I. Tchourioukanov 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 03:51 PM
Access Count Since June 18, 1998: 27141
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: