The Microscope

The Microscope

An international journal dedi­ ings for them. The Microscope cated to the advancement of endeavors to help the micro­ all forms of microscopy for scopist keep up to date ,s>n new the biologist, mineralogist, techniques and instrumentation metallograpber or chemist. that should help him do a better job. The microscope is nearly as common in the laboratories of The principal sources of the world as an analytical papers for The Microscope are balance. No matter what the the INTER/MICRO symposia held field of research the micro­ every year alternately in scope is always a useful ad­ Chicago and England. The jour­ junct and often an essential nal is, however, open to papers tool. from other meetings or papers written expressly for publica­ A successful journal for tion. We hope that The Micro­ microscopists must therefore scope will influence microsco­ interest and benefit a very pists to do more research, to wide spectrum of scientists. write and publish more papers The Microscope attempts to and, generally, to assist us in accomplish this by emphasizing obtaining for microscopy the new advances in microscope recognition it deserves in the design, new accessories, new modern research laboratory. techniques, and unique appli­ cations to the study of ,parti­ Published by: cles, films , or surfaces of Microscope Publications any material. (The puolishing arm of the Mccrone Research Institute Inc) A major advantage of this edi­ 2820 South Michigan A venue torial approach is the result­ Chicago, Illinois 60616-3292 ing cross-fertilization. A new (312) 842 7105 technique for studying paper surfaces is usually useful for Editor: studying ceramics, a new tech­ Walter C. Mc Crone nique for replicating surfaces developed by a metallographer Managing Editor: may also be useful to the Geri Faircloth polymer microscopist. Very often techniques developed by Book Review Editor: an electron microscopist may John Gustav Delly be very helpful to a light microscopist and vice versa. Subscriptions: One year: $50 .oo The microscopist is far more Two years: $90 .oo dependent than most scien­ Three years: $120 .00 tists on his journals. Very Four issues per year. few courses are taught for (Individuals paying personally microscopists and there are $25 ,$45 .oo & $60 .oo respectively) relatively few technical meet- Illustration on Cover: The cover signifies completion of the first 50 years of publication for The Microscope. This issue is a complete 50-year index of the contents. The editorial attempts to predict the status of The Micro­ scope in 2037. CONTENTS VOL 35 NO 4 "50 Years Ago" Pioneers of Bacteriology 341 V. L. KAHAN Cumulative Indexes 1937 - 1987 (Volumes 1-35) Author Index vii Subject Index lxvii Book Reviews (by Author) cxxxi Calendar of Events cxlix THE MICROSCOPE Founded .1937 by Arthur L. E. Barron ISSN 0026-282X Volume 35, Number 4, Fall 1987 0026-282/86/02341 U.S.$2.00/0 Copyright © 1987 by Mccrone Research Institute All rights of reproduction in any form reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmit­ ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The appearance of the code on this page indicates the copyright owner's consent that copies of any article may be made for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific clients. This consent is given on the condition, however, that· the copier pay the stated er copy fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. f21 Congress ,Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970), for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U .s. Copyright Law. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying , such as copying for general dis­ tribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for ( $2. 00) creating new collective works, or for resale. Copy fees for pre-1987 articles are the same as those shown for current articles. MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Published quarterly by Mc Crone Research Institute, Inc. 2820 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60616 1987 Volume 35, Price: $50.00 U.S.A.; Personal subscriptions: $25 .OO Second-Class postage paid at Chicago, Illinois Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mc Crone Research Institute, 2820 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60616 ii Editorial Having seen last quarter how light microscopy is in 1987, what can we say about PLM after another 50 years when The Microscope celebrates its lOOth anniversary? There are two possibilities: 1. The light microscope will be accepted for what it can do. There will be microscopists trained in its use and most other scientists will be more aware of its potential and consider its use on the problems that arise. 2. The light microscope will be a collector's item. Which of these two possibilities wins out depends on the light microscopists still around. We are the only ones in any sort of position to reverse the present trend to­ ward extinction. Our micro numbers and micro influence will have to produce a macro result. I think it can be done but then I've always been an optimist. Still, I can think of some solid reasons for optimism. Our research institute is fluorishing. More and more students are registering for our courses: 780 in 50 courses in 1986 and 1006 in 62 courses already (December) in 1987 with 2 more courses to go before December 31 (we project 1040 students in 64 courses for 1987). Of course, half of them are asbestos courses but, at least, they are learning what the PLM can do generally as well as speci­ fically for the identification of the fibrous components of bulk insulation and other possible asbestos-containing materials. In the future they will be available to apply polarized light microscopy to problems in other areas. INTER/MICRO symposia continue to grow in attendance and number of papers. Next June 27-July 1 here in Chicago we expect at least 250 microscopists and 70-80 good papers. You can help by attending and, even better, presenting a paper; just call Nancy Daerr, (312) 842-7105. Another (unusual) reason for optimism is based on crime investigation and art conservation laboratories. Few of them can afford expensive instrumentation and both have problems uniquely suitable for light microscopy-the identification of artist's paint pigments and the compari­ son and identification of trace evidence (glass, hair, fibers, paint, soils, explosives etc.). We have had 10 courses in these two areas this year for more than 150 forensic and conservation students. We now teach polarized light microscopy in three universities-Cornell, New York University and Illinois Institute of Technology. I'm particularly happy about Cornell who, having started the teaching of chemical microscopy in the 1890s, gave up in 1980. We have been able to set up Chamot's original microscopy laboratory in iii the Chemistry building with new polarizing microscopes donated by Olympus and others. All graduate and undergrad­ uate chemists and many others from other departments at Cornell are now well-exposed to PLM and its capabilities. Finally, I may be excused if I mention the Vinland Map and the Turin Shroud in the context of 1987-2037 possibilities. I expect that the final results on these two highly visible problems will influence scientist's thinking on the place of the light microscope in research and problem solving. Both the map and The Shroud are ex­ cellent examples of ultramicroanalytical problems best solved by PLM. Unfortunately the lack of PLM background and lack of confidence in its use by scientists generally and their blind faith in High-Tech analytical instrumenta­ tion has made it impossible for the PLM to win its de­ served credit for finding both map and Shroud to be for­ geries. The light microscope, with its most important acces­ sory the eye and brain above the eyepiece, finds the ink lines in the Vinland Map to contain a twentieth Century pigment (Ti02 as anatase) impossible in an alleged 1440 map. The particles can be found and identified by ultra­ microanalytical instruments like the PLM but not by the trace analytical instruments used by those who have re­ ported the PLM evidence to be suspect and probably wrongl. A corollary of our main problem is to educate scientists as to the difference between ultramicroanalysis (tiny but relatively pure. samples) and trace analysis (ppm and ppb concentrations in large samples). Once this dis­ tinction becomes better known the fact that PLM solved the map and Shroud problems and the High-Tech instruments did not, should help us in our main problem of restoring PLM to the research world. A strong effort to correct current mis-thinking about the Vinland Map is in progress2. The Shroud is a very similar situation. Very fine pigment particles (red ochre and vermilion) are obvious by PLM as the image-forming material on the Shroud. The High­ Tech instruments can't see the pigments or the tempera medium on the individual linen fibers hence "they aren't there". This too, when corrected and acknowledged, will help scientists see that PLM is a powerful analytical tool and, just maybe, that it could solve other tough problems in the research and technology world. 1. Cahill, T .A., et al., "The Vinland Map Revisited", Anal. Chem. 59, 829-833 (1987). 2. Mccrone, W.C., "The Vinland Map", submitted to Anal. Chem. iv 11 50 YEARS AGO" Pioneers of Bacteriology* V. L. Kahan The very small has been found to share, with the very large, a power of fascination over many men which the intermediate stages of size are unable to excite.

View Full Text

Details

  • File Type
    pdf
  • Upload Time
    -
  • Content Languages
    English
  • Upload User
    Anonymous/Not logged-in
  • File Pages
    165 Page
  • File Size
    -

Download

Channel Download Status
Express Download Enable

Copyright

We respect the copyrights and intellectual property rights of all users. All uploaded documents are either original works of the uploader or authorized works of the rightful owners.

  • Not to be reproduced or distributed without explicit permission.
  • Not used for commercial purposes outside of approved use cases.
  • Not used to infringe on the rights of the original creators.
  • If you believe any content infringes your copyright, please contact us immediately.

Support

For help with questions, suggestions, or problems, please contact us