Darkfield image of crystals forming in a drop of water

[sjastro]

A technique commonly applied in forensic science used in more sedate circumstances.

The water drop is about 2mm in diameter. The blob at the right is the reflection of the light source.

Regards

Steven

[Larryp]

Another fascinating image, Steven!

[RickS]

Very cool!

[seeker372011]

Cool!

[ourkind]

A timelapse of those crystals forming would be cool to see! Nice shot thanks for sharing.

[sjastro]

Thanks Laurie, Rick, Narayan, and Carlos.



Until I figure out how to control the individual frame exposures in a timelapse, the resultant AVI file is nothing more than a film of pitch blackness.;)

The theory behind behind dark field microscopy is found here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_field_microscopy).

A much easier and cost efficient way of producing a dark field on a stereo microscope is to have an external light source located in the plane of the glass slide and illuminating the side of the slide. Due to the oblique angle of the light, the light rays are reflected off the glass away from the detector.
The light that reaches the detector is scattered light which results in the dark field.

Regards

Steven