Update – Making Progress

Technique and skills are slowly improving. Most of the time I can apply a stain without making a big mess. I’m still taking pics of everything because looking at them all - whether good or bad – helps me learn. Remembering to adjust the diaphragm is still an issue. Need to post a note to myself.

Still getting most of my specimens from the kitchen. Viewing leaves and stem sections from vegetables. Focusing the 40x objective is often a problem when the lens is up against the cover slip. I don’t know if there’s a solution, but I’ll keep trying.

Mite in  old Bisquick

One of my kitchen specimens came when I opened an old container of Bisquick and found a layer of gunk on top. Found a mite when I took a sample

Fruit Fly Wing

Fruit fly is another interesting specimen.

Hibiscus Ovary

Hibiscus dissection was fun. Internet info gave me a flower diagram and the steps for the dissection.

A bonus came from the ghost ants on the bloom I cut.  Made a quick improvised killing jar.

Ghost Ant
Typically <5mm head to tail

The small handheld microscope is especially useful for thick specimens like an ant because it is overhead illumination.  Illumination from under the specimen shows only the silhouette.

I’ve played around with polarization with mixed results. My scope does not have a place to put a filter, so I’ve tried various methods of placing the filters. Polarizing film tends to have minute scratches – but maybe that’s because I bought cheap film. I also bought 2 round acrylic filters but haven’t found the best way to position the bottom one.

Latest acquisition is a mechanical stage which makes life much easier. I can make tiny moves to the specimen. Trying to adjust by hand, it was almost impossible to make fine adjustments.

My plan is for a quarterly summary with the best/most interesting pics. I photograph almost every specimen with all objectives and with stains. These are all documented in my log, but I want to highlight the ones that I especially like.  For the first quarter I created a PowerPoint presentation and then exported that to an MP4 file in order to send it to others. Here’s the first one.

Continuing Education

Still doing experiments from beginner’s books. Every one teaches me something.

The best beginner’s book I’ve found is Adventures With a Microscope by Richard

Headstrom originally published in 1941. It was written for intelligent children Explanations are detailed, extensive, and very clearly written.

It is interesting to read his list of useful supplies; especially the recommended chemicals and reagents. Many of the things that were readily available at the time are now restricted and/or completely unavailable to the amateur: Chloroform.   Ether.   Sulfuric Acid.  Caustic Potash.  (As a side note, I was able to get sulfuric acid from a pharmacy for use in a high school physics experiment as late as 1959.)

Much of my education is coming from the internet. http://www.microbehunter.com/ is a wonderful resource. Oliver Kim has a large selection of instructional videos and articles. He is an excellent teacher. There’s also a wide-ranging forum that has a section especially for beginners.  I’ve learned a lot form the very helpful forum members.

www.microscopy-uk.org.uk is another helpful site, but I’ve found many broken links in the learning section.

www.ibiology.org offers courses including both a long and a short microscopy course.

www.microscopeworld.com is another very helpful site.

Facebook has an Amateur Microscopy group whose members mostly post photos.  Some of the more spectacular photos are an inspiration for some experiments to be discussed later.

Climbing the Learning Curve

Climbing the Learning Curve

I’m beginning to get the hang of this, doing experiments out of a book aimed at children. It’s very simple -  just my speed. It uses everyday things such as vegetables, hair, and skin plus many more things found around the house.

Experiments include using stains.  The Methylene Blue that came with the slide kit I bought was in a tiny container such that I couldn’t control the flow – could not get a single drop; it came out in blobs. A new larger bottle works just fine. Iodine is the only other stain I’ve tried so far.

My biggest challenge is focus. This inexpensive student microscope doesn’t have the delicate calibration of a more expensive scope. With practice I’ll get better. Using a hand-held microtome is another learning experience.

My “lab” is one end of the dining room table. A small wheeled cart holds all my paraphernalia. The microscope sits on the bottom shelf of the cart when the “lab” is closed down, and the cart rolls into a small space in another room.

I’m having fun looking at the microworld and learning a lot in the process.

I'm an Idiot!

I am an idiot. No explanation. Just take it from me. I missed something that should have been obvious. Maybe I'll explain it in a few years.
But, now I've found it and it'll make a big difference.  Onward and upward.

Impatience is Not a Virtue

I’m always anxious to get started, no matter what the project.

I got a slide preparation kit that included lots of handy things and 2 stains in powder form. I put off reconstituting them.

In the meantime, I did some beginners’ exercises. Salt: table, kosher, flake. Looked at some cheese mold. These have helped me get more comfortable with my scope. Then I got to another beginner task: cheek cells which should be stained.

Time to add water to the Methylene Blue powder.

Problem: I did not have gloves. Ancillary problem: I had no experience with or practical knowledge of this substance. I decided to try it anyway – I’d be very careful.  HA!  Tiny little bottle of powder. Eyedropper same diameter as bottle top. 

WOW! Is it BLUE! So was the toweling I used to soak up any spillage.  So were my fingertips and their nails.(Should have taken a pic) Running water helped very little.  Off to Google. Learned that diluted bleach was the answer; but I just used it full strength.

I’ll look at cheek cells tomorrow.

I now have gloves. And little jars of dilute bleach and rubbing alcohol among my kit. I guess every mistake is a learning experience. I hope every learning experience is not the result of a mistake.

Why a microscope?

Because I’m curious. I’ve always been fascinated by the sciences but never had the self-discipline to actually study one beyond high school. Then comes the cheap digital microscope (really just a camera with a magnifier) so I got one. 

Table Sugar

Grape stem cross section

It was fun but after a while I wanted more.

The next step was a student microscope with camera.  Didn’t break the budget and I think it’s a good way to start. Problem is that I didn’t know anything about microscopes. Time to dive into books and internet. As would be expected, a Google search found very helpful sites.

Microbehunter.com has been my premier microscope tutor. Oliver Kim has  great videos.  His explanations are clear and he presents topics in plain language without a lot of technical jargon even when discussing more advanced topics. There's a forum that even has a beginner's corner. I don’t have enough words to express my delight at finding such a great place to learn.

Of course, everything I learn leads to more Google searches. My notebook is beginning to fill fast.