Phase contrast microscope

Description

A phase contrast microscope can make details of the object distinct even when they have nearly identical refractive indices. It uses the interference created by phase differences between the direct and diffracted light transmitted through the object to enhance image contrast. This microscopic method was developed in the early 20th century by Frits Zernike. He was awarded a Nobel prize for it in 1953.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Phasenkontrastmikroskop (Deut.); microscope à contraste de phase (Fr.); fasecontrastmicroscoop (Ned.);

Resources and Citations

• Walter C. McCrone, John Gustave Delly, The Particle Atlas, W. McCrone Associates, Chicago, IV, 1972

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_contrast_microscope (Accessed Feb. 10, 2006)