The Phase Contrast Microscope – When To Use It?
Recently, many microscopes are extensively used in the different research and scientific activities. They have proven to be very valuable tools when it comes to studying and examining both objects and specimens alike. Because of the new trend of using different microscopes in most fields of work, more and more people are claiming that they too should be using certain types of microscopes to increase their chances of being successful on the areas requiring experiments, examinations and careful observations. Just like the rest of the microscopes, a phase contrast microscope has become the basic tool in some areas of science. Therefore, when do we use a phase contrast microscope? Does it all mean that we can be able to use it anytime, anywhere and on any type of objects and specimens in any situation? Are we going to be satisfied with its performance? This microscope functions on specific cases. It may provide you with images of poor quality when used in the wrong way. Such failures could also happen when you are using the wrong microscope.
When to use a phase contrast microscope
When someone’s asking you to make a report or a study on small biological creatures, then it’s time to bring out this microscope on your working area. In activities concerning the study on the structures, characteristics and nature of cells, bacteria, protozoa and other tiny living organisms that are translucent, such a phase contrast microscope is best for the job. Frits Zernike who discovered the method of providing a more vivid and defined version of the specimen under a microscope, had made it possible for man to find out more about living organisms that were never before thought to exist.
Tissues and cells of these living and colorless creatures are hard to see when viewed under a normal compound microscope. It would be quite hard to make a distinction between them and their surroundings because they tend to blend naturally. However, with the use of this certain type of microscope, an even more detailed image of the specimen is seen rather than its translucent appearance. One of its edges over the others is that it does not involve staining and fixing just to make an impressive image. A stained specimen changes its normal behavior and tends to show signs of activities different from an unstained specimen. It would likely kill the specimen too because of its chemical contents.
This type of tool can also be ideal to study the cell cycle of an organism. It provides the user the vital changes a cell may undergo during cell division. It also offers an improved outline and movements in the cell are immediately detected because of the intensified contrast mode. Any break down, replication or remodeling of a cell cycle may even be viewed too.
Things to remember before using a phase contrast microscope Before doing the actual activity with this microscope, there are matters to be considered and guidelines to follow. Setting the specimen carefully under the microscope and aligning a condenser annulus with the objective lens’ phase plate are the first set of making it work properly. By default, these two items are not aligned and must be moved to align with each other using the Y and X-Translation sliders. With the help of the sliders, it allows the user to correct the condenser annulus with respect to a phase plate of a fixed objective thereby enabling the user to get a maximum contrast on the specimen. Some other matters to be considered are examining the tool carefully to make sure that all the phase plates in the objectives are securely nestled in the nosepiece. In addition, in order to decrease changes in the frequency between an annulus with another annulus, the objectives must also be successively ordered in their setup on the nosepiece from a low magnification to a higher one.
A phase contrast microscope is a truly wonderful gift to help people improve the knowledge about the tiny living creatures inhabiting our world. Before, these creatures were hard to study because they seem to blend well with their surroundings. Men who tried to learn more about them were less excited than today because there were certain limitations that provide them with great difficulty. Other microscopes which were used to study them were not able to give defined and detailed images resulting to lack of information and misconceptions on the specimens being studied. Now, there have been quite a number of breakthroughs that man has made, all thanks to this microscope and the modernized ways gathering and accessing information.
