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Solar Microscope Compendium (No. 229) |
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Made: c1780 Made by: unknown Made in: probably England |
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The solar microscope can be configured for projection, transmitted, or reflected light illumination.
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Imaging using the projection system.
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| This instrument is called a "Solar Microscope" because the sample illumination is sunlight. The microscope was designed to be mounted to a window shutter, with the mirror extending outside the room. Thumbscrews on the base of the instrument rotate and tilt the mirror to direct sunlight into the conical microscope body and into one of three optical devices. There are three magnifiers included with this instrument: a high-magnification screwbarrel microscope, a low magnification reflected light microscope for imaging opaque samples, and a projection system for displaying magnified images against a screen or wall for group viewing. This old drawing shows the use of a Solar Microscope as an image projection system. The optics of the body tube consist of a large diameter condenser lens and two optional field lenses placed in the end of the tapered tube. Each of the magnifying systems has their own optical components. The screwbarrel microscope has six objective lenses. The reflected light device has a two-lens Ramsden eyepiece. The projection system has two low magnification lenses.
Accessories consist of a brass forceps, three glass phials, two brass sample holders for the reflected light magnifiers, a wood sample slide, and a brass and cork plunger. The entire instrument can be packed into a mahogany case. This instrument is unsigned, but is undoubtedly English and was manufactured in the late 18th Century. |
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| Microscope featured 6/04, 5/10 | ||||||||