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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #94639
Title: USE OF VIDEO (LIGHT) MICROSCOPY AND LOW TEMPERATURE SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY TO OBSERVE IDENTICAL FROZEN SPECIMENS

Author
item Wergin, William
item Erbe, Eric
item Rango, Albert

Submitted to: Microscopy and Microanalysis
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: None.

Technical Abstract: During the past one hundred years, the light microscope (LM) in combination with the camera has been used to record numerous images of biological, as well as nonbiological, specimens. As a result, photomicrographs contributed a wealth of information to numerous disciplines that range from biosystematics to crystallography. The scanning electron microscope (SEM), which has been utilized in many biological fields during the last thirty years, has only recently been applied to other fields, such as hydrology and glaciology. The SEM provides increased resolution, greater depth of field, and images that characterize only the external surface features of a specimen. In contrast, LM photomicrographs recorded with transmitted or reflected light, frequently combine the external (surface) and internal features of a specimen into a single image. As a result, the LM images are more complex and can be difficult to interpret. To demonstrate and clarify this problem, a video (light) microscope was adapted so that photomicrographs and low temperature SEM micrographs of an identical frozen sample could be recorded and compared.