{"id":988,"date":"2023-11-05T20:29:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T20:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/?page_id=988"},"modified":"2024-03-08T13:40:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T13:40:13","slug":"condensers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/?page_id=988","title":{"rendered":"Condensers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"988\" class=\"elementor elementor-988\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52ae0fe e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"52ae0fe\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0416922 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0416922\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70ba58a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"70ba58a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 08-11-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Condensers<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f2b51b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7f2b51b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 08-11-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Condensers channel light from the light source into a cone directed through the sample. Located below the stage on a regular compound microscope, condensers are generally less diverse than objectives regarding their features and interchangeability, but there are a few types that are worth being aware of:<br \/><strong><br \/><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Abbe Condenser<\/span><br \/><\/strong>The Abbe condenser is the most common type of light microscope condenser, usually a standard on all new budget and most used microscopes. An Abbe condenser generally consists of two lenses to direct light through the sample.<br \/>Common components on an Abbe condenser include: an <strong>iris diaphragm,\u00a0<\/strong>a shutter-like slider with a lever to control the amount of light let into the condenser, known as aperture. A\u00a0<strong>flip-top lens<\/strong>, othewise known as a flip-out or swing-out condenser, allows the top lens to be moved out of the way, meant for use with lower magnification objectives to broaden the cone of light passing through the slide, illuminating the whole sample rather than just the centre. Finally, a\u00a0<strong>filter holder\u00a0<\/strong>is found on some condensers, holding filter discs\/lollipop filters for different techniques.<\/p><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Corrected Condensers<\/strong><\/span><br \/>Just like objectives, condensers can possess optical correction, either for chromatic or spherical aberration. A condenser which only corrects for spherical aberration is known as\u00a0<strong>aplanatic<\/strong>, a condenser which only corrects for chromatic aberration is known as\u00a0<strong>achromatic<\/strong>, and a condenser which corrects for both is, you guessed it,\u00a0<strong>aplanatic-achromatic<\/strong>.\u00a0<br \/>While a condenser can be corrected, it is not common to see this on hobby microscopes simply due to expense.<\/p><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Phase Contrast Condensers<\/strong><\/span><br \/>Phase contrast setups require specialised phase contrast condensers possesing an annulus and phase plate. I do not know enough about phase contrast to explain any further in detail here, sorry!<\/p><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Condenser Controls<\/strong><\/span><br \/>Condensers come in all different shapes and sizes, but their basic functions and controls always remain the same.\u00a0<br \/>Looking at the diagram on the bottom right, different parts and their functions will be displayed here:<br \/><b><br \/>Iris Diaphragm<\/b>: Used to control the amount of light entering the condenser<br \/><b>Centering Knob<\/b>: Used to center the condenser, so the beam of light is passing directly through the centre of the stage opening.<br \/><strong>Lens:\u00a0<\/strong>The bit light goes through.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46d557d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46d557d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e7c8c2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9e7c8c2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 08-11-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Abbe-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-1317\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Abbe-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Abbe-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Abbe.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Relatively Standard Abbe Condenser. Credit: Optics-Pro<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-926e438 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"926e438\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/aplanat_condenser.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1298\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/aplanat_condenser.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/aplanat_condenser-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/aplanat_condenser-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Olympus Aplanatic-Achromatic Condenser with several lollipop filters. Source: Photomacrography.net<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70b08c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"70b08c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"862\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1418627-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1418627-1.jpg 862w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1418627-1-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1418627-1-768x609.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Very rough diagram of basic condenser controls.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-158b8ea e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"158b8ea\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c8f9b54 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c8f9b54\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8f189ca e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8f189ca\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Condensers Condensers channel light from the light source into a cone directed through the sample. Located below the stage on a regular compound microscope, condensers are generally less diverse than objectives regarding their features and interchangeability, but there are a few types that are worth being aware of:Abbe CondenserThe Abbe condenser is the most common &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/?page_id=988\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Condensers<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=988"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1326,"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988\/revisions\/1326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weirdbio.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}