Piracetam crystals

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

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Wes
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Piracetam crystals

Post by Wes »

I've been using a plastic analyser for a while and finally managed to find a decent one. Here is a shopped picture of some new filters with shots of piracetam crystals inside them. 100 times magnified

Image

arturoag75
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Post by arturoag75 »

WOW!!
original shot and nice color :wink: !
Arturo

Cactusdave
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Post by Cactusdave »

Clever idea and good execution, though if I was being 'picky' I think I would have arranged the filters on a different background. I'm not sure that background really compliments them. BTW they are Zeiss neutral density filters aren't they? I think I've got a similar set somewhere.
Leitz Ortholux 1, Zeiss standard, Nikon Diaphot inverted, Canon photographic gear

Wes
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Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:50 am

Post by Wes »

Thanks, Arturo! There is a very noticeable difference between my old DIY filter from the LCD screen of a tetris game and the new one.

Wes
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Post by Wes »

Cactusdave wrote:Clever idea and good execution, though if I was being 'picky' I think I would have arranged the filters on a different background. I'm not sure that background really compliments them. BTW they are Zeiss neutral density filters aren't they? I think I've got a similar set somewhere.
I think they are neutral density filters. I've never used such before but the one that has a value of 0,03 dims the light to a much higher extent than the 0,5 one.

This is the reflection of my camera lens from the surface of the 0,03 filter.

Image

And the actual filters. Both of them are zeiss, not sure about the third one.
Image

The other filter transmits green light and reflects purple-ish colours (lower wavelenghts I suppose but I might be wrong)

As for the background I grabbed the closest textbook with a dark cover:
Image

I had no intention of producing the image I posted so didn't really care about the background. I agree, I would've used a different one, not sure exactly what though :?:

Cactusdave
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Post by Cactusdave »

An interesting and amusing choice of background. :lol: Lecturer, practitioner or both? My background was in cell biology and cancer research before retirement. I think the third filter would be a green interference filter, at least it is in the similar set I have.
Leitz Ortholux 1, Zeiss standard, Nikon Diaphot inverted, Canon photographic gear

Wes
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Post by Wes »

Cactusdave wrote:An interesting and amusing choice of background. :lol: Lecturer, practitioner or both?
None. I am still a student.
Cactusdave wrote:I think the third filter would be a green interference filter, at least it is in the similar set I have.
What is this set good for? I told a friend about a problem with the light intensity so he gave me this set of two 0.5 and one 0.03 neutral density filters plus the green one. He didn't really say what the original purpose of the set is.

Wes
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Post by Wes »

Perhaps this might give you a better idea of the green filter. I used a CD as a reflective diffraction grid to generate an incandescent bulb spectrum. The top image is (-)filter and the bottom one is (+)filter.

Image

Then I used the filter box as a holder and situated my desk lamp on the right side of the image. You can see the reflection on the right and whats transmitted to the left.

Image

Any information about the nature of this filter set and its applications are highly appreciated.

Cactusdave
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Post by Cactusdave »

Good question. The neutral density filters were probably useful to help with exposure control in pre-digital photography days, while maintaining a fixed colour temperature. The green filter was probably used to increase contrast for photographing certain histology stains. There seem to be quite a lot of these sets around so I guess they were supplied as a standard accessory with Zeiss microscopes at a certain time.

Edit: BTW I love your innovative experiments with the filter. 8)
Leitz Ortholux 1, Zeiss standard, Nikon Diaphot inverted, Canon photographic gear

Wes
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Post by Wes »

Thanks, Cactusdave! This makes sense since my friend works at a histopathology lab and said they wont be needing these anymore.

Wes
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Post by Wes »

This thread went a bit off-topic :lol: so here are some actual shots of piracetam crystals. This chemical is somewhat difficult to use for that purpose since it easily forms clumps that are of no use in polarisation microscopy. I found out that spreading piracetam solution to a very large surface helps to make crystals of the appropriate size.

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rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

bromodomain wrote:This thread went a bit off-topic :lol:
Going off-topic is an honored tradition at photomacrography.net. :lol: One of my own threads started off talking about a simple way to draw scale bars but got diverted into the physics of diffraction. Oddly, the diversion ended up being among the most productive discussions I ever had! Anyway, if you are bothered by diversion, please just nudge people back in line or suggest that they start a new thread. We'll figure out after a while what your preferences are.

By the way, while I'm off-topic myself, I'll mention that the standard posting limits call for no more than 6 images per day in each image gallery. (The technical discussion forums are unlimited.) No need to modify anything you've done so far, but please keep the limits in mind for future postings.

Thanks!

And now back to piracetam crystals...

--Rik

Wes
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Post by Wes »

I love going off-topic for the simple reason that I learn new things (as in this case). I just felt that people would probably like to see the crystals. I wasn't aware of the 6 images per day rule but I'll keep it in mind for future reference.

Therefore feel free to go off-topic.

Speaking of physics I'm still not sure how the psychedelic imagery in polarisation microscopy is generated. I know about the function of the polariser and analyser and that the colour is a function of thickness but when is the actual colour generated?

BTW I noticed that the green filter changed its transmission properties when tilted relative to the light source.

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

bromodomain wrote:but when is the actual colour generated?
The crystals rotate the axis of polarization differently for each wavelength of light. Strong colors occur when for some wavelengths the axis of polarization ends up crossed with the analyzer so that wavelength gets extinguished, while others are not and make it through.
BTW I noticed that the green filter changed its transmission properties when tilted relative to the light source.
Definitely consistent with being an interference filter.

--Rik

Wes
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Post by Wes »

Thanks for the explanation! If I use light of a certain wavelength am I going to see light intensity differences instead of colour differences?

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