I just brought a microscope

Also, if you find amoeba or paramecia it is fun to watch vacuoles do their thing tossing out digested/unnecessary material...........
 
Giordano said:
Small idea about microtomes. I heard once that a crude but workable microtome could be created from a large nut and bolt, each with a matching fine thread. Back off the bolt until is is almost readily to fall off the nut, place the specimen in the hollow formed by the nut and bolt, add melted wax to embed the specimen and let the wax cool. Then, by gradually tightening the bolt to slightly extrude the wax/specimen, you can use a razor blade to slice off thin pieces which you can fix on a slide, stain them, and view them through the microscope.
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Also, although it may seem obvious in retrospect: use a 4-40 thread, rather than a 1/4-20.
 
Here's a freeze-frame I got of a video I took using a mini-cam for the computer. It's not exactly a microscope but enlarges enough to clearly see the groove in a vinyl record. I don't think it was more than $35 on Amazon. Whenever I do a science thing for the kids, somehow they always end up looking at their "owies". (It's helped me check out a few medical questions, myself.)

Conclusion: The human body, up close, can be at the same time very ugly and very beautiful.

I was reading at my picnic table and noticed this bee frequenting my radio. Turns out, the screw holes were just perfect for storing pollen. I watched for several tens of minutes as the bee stored and then sealed the hole. I thought it was fascinating to see a scene from Mysterious Island, from the outside.

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You should get a job at your local sewage works. They'd probably appreciate someone looking at their bugs to check how healthy they are.
 
wobs said:
You should get a job at your local sewage works. They'd probably appreciate someone looking at their bugs to check how healthy they are.
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Probably get intestinal problems a lot though!!!! Not worth it!!!!!
 
I bought another one!!!

Best for ever so slightly larger non transparent objects.

I love it. Been looking at leaves, insects, seashells, fossils.
There is a whole other universe in the 'tiny'
 

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When I 'retire' in 10 weeks, one of the things I want to do much more of is examine small natural things and draw them, in the spirit of 18th and 19th century naturalists.
 
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