Trees under the microscope

[Logrod]

I'd be interested in knowing how you prepared the wood samples (I can get my head around soft tissue)

[RobArb]

Eventually I will get round to explaining a bit about microscopes and how in theory anyone on Arbtalk can get into this at very little expense.

 

yes please:biggrin:

 

 

only have a usb microscope at mo, does the job for what I need.... but...

[daltontrees]

yes please:biggrin:

 

 

only have a usb microscope at mo, does the job for what I need.... but...

 

Well, if I know you, and seeing as some conifers can only be reliably differentiated by counting vascular bundles in needles, you'll be wanting to get into transmitted light microscopy.

[daltontrees]

I'd be interested in knowing how you prepared the wood samples (I can get my head around soft tissue)

 

It's pretty much the same as soft tissues, still taking thin slices. I am hoping Tony Croft will come along in due course and enlighten me as to how to do wood. Most of my slides have been bought prepared since my own efforts at thin sections have been a bit haphazard. Hopefully I can post pictures of preparation of a slide step-by-step.

Edited December 13, 2013 by daltontrees

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

watching with interest, a subject long overdue getting "done" on AT:thumbup1:

[sloth]

Two pages in 9 hours at this rate it could rival the favourite tv girls thread, almost...

[daltontrees]

Here's the simplest set-up you can get for taking pictures under a microscope. It's a USB microscope, such as RobArb mentioned.

 

I should explain and state an obvious point about microscopes generally. The way you look at a picture depends on how you use the light. In this case it uses reflected light. Light hits the object from the room or the sun or the lights in the room and bounces off it. Some of it hits the microscope lens and gets focused into a picture. Just as the eye does.

 

More complicated set-ups use transmitted light, the light passes through the object and into the microscope. The object has to be therefore fairly thin and almost transparent.

 

To take a picture you just need to put a camera where your eye would be.

 

The USB microscope in the picture does it all. It has it's own LED light source right where it's needed above the object. It can be swivelled about and focused at most angles. Then it converts the picture in real time to a picture on the computer screen, like a mini CCTV. No need to look into the microscope, it's there 17"" across on the laptop. And to take a picture you just hit the 'capture' button on the computer.

 

The picture I took was a Poinsetta leaf, the quality is limited but you can see it gets in nice and close to see the vein structures on the underside of the leaf.

 

If anyone fancies getting into a bit of simple reflected light microscopy/photography, this is the way to go and not too late to email Santa knowing it won't break the Bank of Lapland.

[John Shutler]

a few pictures from when I did my foundation degree

Oak transverse

Acer transverse

Scots pine radial

scotspine transverse

[Gary Prentice]

Okay Jules, you've sold the idea!

 

For a USB scope, what magnification and camera pixels should I be looking for, as a complete idiot in modern technology:blushing:

[daltontrees]

The one in my pictures is x20 to x400 maginification and has I think around 2 megapixels. They can be bought on the net (just search for USB microscope) for as little as £14 but I would be inclined to make sure I got at least 2MP and at least 300x maginification even if it cost me £40. The price includes the inegral USB cable and a CD that puts the software on your desktop. As with most things the temptation is to start with a cheap one to see if you like it and plan to upgrade but starting cheap can put you right off so it's better to start with good kit that you will want to use again and again. I use mine at least once a week. About 100 sessions so far since it was given to me. It was a present so I dont know the price, but I am guessing it has cost about 20p a session or 10p per picture so far. It should last years too, I reckon it'll be sub- 2p per picture by the time it's done in. And that's ignoring it's use as a mini CCTV just for looking at things.