The Microscope – Volume 64, Third Quarter 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
On the cover
Biogenic grains of sand collected from Star Sand Beach in Okinawa, Japan. See editorial, Sand Microscopy: The World in Every Grain, page 98, and Inter/Micro 2016, page 99. (Photomicrograph courtesy of Thomas J. Hopen)
Editorial | Sand Microscopy: The World in Every Grain
Gary J. LaughlinThe Microscope 64:3, p. ii, 2016https://doi.org/10.59082/CMUQ8726
Excerpt: Sand is much more fascinating than what you see through an hourglass. As any dedicated sand collector will tell you, observing sand with a microscope reveals a world of minute wonders. Lovers of sand (known as psammophiles) comb beaches and deserts around the globe to collect sands and study their unique qualities such as grain shapes, colors, textures, components, and other characteristics specific to sand’s location and geography.
Inter/Micro 2016
Gary J. Laughlin
The Microscope 64:3, pp. 99–118, 2016https://doi.org/10.59082/ANMI2996
Abstract: The 68th annual Inter/Micro international microscopy conference, held at McCrone Research Institute in Chicago on June 6–10, hosted leading microscopists and researchers from around the world, including the U.S., India, Israel, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands, and U.K. The first three days of Inter/Micro 2016 featured research presentations by amateur, professional, and graduate-student microscopists, who covered advancements in instrumentation, new techniques and practical applications in various fields of microscopy and microanalysis. Talks by speakers focused on PLM, SEM, TEM, EDS, Raman microscopy, hot-stage and infrared microspectroscopy, microchemistry, forensic trace evidence and criminalistics, pharmaceutical sciences, materials analysis, environmental health, food analysis, and air quality. Presentations covered diverse topics including titles such as “Raman Imaging of Samples with Complex Surface Topographies,” “Characterization and Uses of Quarter-Wave Plates,” “Anatomical Features from the Inner Bark of Pulpwoods,” “Laser Toner Nanoparticles as Forensic Evidence,” “Pocket Microscopy: A Panacea for the Optically Curious or Just a Novel Trend?” “Machine Learning Applied to Digital Microscopy,” “Microscopical Methods Used in the Development of Pharmaceuticals,” “On the Development of New Microcrystal Tests for Drugs,” and more.
Abstract: The 68th annual Inter/Micro international microscopy conference, held at McCrone Research Institute in Chicago on June 6–10, hosted leading microscopists and researchers from around the world, including the U.S., India, Israel, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands, and U.K. The first three days of Inter/Micro 2016 featured research presentations by amateur, professional, and graduate-student microscopists, who covered advancements in instrumentation, new techniques and practical applications in various fields of microscopy and microanalysis. Talks by speakers focused on PLM, SEM, TEM, EDS, Raman microscopy, hot-stage and infrared microspectroscopy, microchemistry, forensic trace evidence and criminalistics, pharmaceutical sciences, materials analysis, environmental health, food analysis, and air quality. Presentations covered diverse topics including titles such as “Raman Imaging of Samples with Complex Surface Topographies,” “Characterization and Uses of Quarter-Wave Plates,” “Anatomical Features from the Inner Bark of Pulpwoods,” “Laser Toner Nanoparticles as Forensic Evidence,” “Pocket Microscopy: A Panacea for the Optically Curious or Just a Novel Trend?” “Machine Learning Applied to Digital Microscopy,” “Microscopical Methods Used in the Development of Pharmaceuticals,” “On the Development of New Microcrystal Tests for Drugs,” and more.
Critical Focus | Fantastic Physics — and Worlds We Never See
Brian J. FordThe Microscope 64:3, pp. 119–129, 2016
https://doi.org/10.59082/YBLH6754
Excerpt: “Scientist, eh?” asked the man on the plane. “You’re lucky.” I sipped my coffee and nodded. “Looking through a microscope is always exciting,” I said. “It gives you such insights into how the world works.” “Sure,” he went on. “And now you have all these incredible new places to explore. Just look at this — a new planet that’s just like ours. It even looks like Earth!” I looked across at his magazine. “That isn’t a picture of a planet,” I sighed. “It’s all invention, a made-up image. It’s guesswork.” You can anticipate his answer: “But it’s here, in print. It must be real. Astronomers in Chile have published it.” I downed the rest of my coffee in a single gulp.
An English Translation of the 1767 Duc de Chaulnes Report on His Method of Determining Refractive Indices, and a Practical Graphical Procedure Based on a Refined Duc de Chaulnes Method
Franz W. NentwichThe Microscope 64:3, pp. 131–143, 2016
https://doi.org/10.59082/QEJV5957
Abstract: An English translation of the original Duc de Chaulnes method for determining refractive indices (RIs) of sections is provided, including a description of his own microscope. Other related references are also included, as well as a modern graphical procedure for determining RIs accurately and rapidly with any microscope objective, based on a refined Duc de Chaulnes method.
Afterimage | Pretty in Pink
Katelyn Hargrave
The Microscope 64:3, p. 144, 2016
Pink and colorless microspheres in lipstick; brightfield illumination. Hargrave’s image was selected Best Photomicrograph in the Inter/Micro 2016 Photomicrography Competition (see page 100).
Copyright © 2016 Microscope Publications, Division of McCrone Research Institute. All rights reserved.