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Microscopy With A Film Scanner

Posted by timothy on from the that's-a-feature-on-a-bug dept.

NickFitz writes "If you've got a film scanner lying around, this site shows you how to use it as a microscope. "Your monitor displays images at about 70-90 dpi, so taking the example of my Mac monitor at about 75 dpi, we get a magnification of 4000/75 which is about x53. It's not a lot and isn't going to show the likes of blood cells, but it should give an interesting view of small transparent objects." Did you know that bees wings are hairy?"

2 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Save public tax dollars by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 2, Insightful


    ALRIGHT

    For all of you who didn't pick this up, I'm talking about a FREE scanner. Like one from the back closet, or one that a business DONATES. Businesses do this all the time for tax write-offs. I hope this helps to end the stream of -well-if-every-school-starts-buying-these- comments.

    Hooking up equipment you already have will save money.

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  2. Re:Save public tax dollars by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Of course, a film scanner is nearly useless for teaching microscopy skills-- moving the slide on the stage, filters, focusing, etc. The image isn't terribly clear at the higher magnifications--as the scanner wasn't designed to image anything but 35mm slides, And woe to any individual who wants to look at a wet sample.