Toronto. Photography demands light, but so do other optical devices such as light microscopes. The resolution limit of light microscopes has usually been the light itself, forcing a transition to other devices such as an electron microscope if increased resolution is needed. However, the higher resolution can only take place if the subject matter is in a vacuum – not so good for living things.
Down at the U of C in San Diego, Science Daily states, “Engineers have developed a technology that turns a conventional light microscope into what’s called a super-resolution microscope.
“It improves the microscope’s resolution (from 200 nm to 40 nm) so that it can be used to directly observe finer structures and details in living cells.”
I took the photograph at left. It shows tiny seeds from the Red Bud tree. Some of the seeds are infected with weevils. Perhaps some day such a technique will allow ordinary close-up photographs like this one to benefit from much higher resolution too…
My thanks to PHSC member Russ Forfar, a long time fan of science, for the suggestion and link. N.B. At one time I collected light microscopes and related books as well as cameras, photographs and ephemera.