Mercury Arc Lamp Fluorescence Microscopy

The microscope arc discharge lamp external power supply is usually equipped with a timer to track the number of hours the burner has been in operation.

Mercury arc lamp fluorescence microscopy.

Explore alignment and focusing of the arc lamp in a mercury or xenon burner which simulates how the lamp is adjusted in a real microscope. Metal halide bulbs contain more mercury per bulb than mercury arc lamps 0 11g v 0. Regardless of the pitfalls the mercury arc lamp remains a workhorse in fluorescence microscopy and is still considered one of the best illumination sources especially for low abundance in effect those that have sparse targets or weak fluorophores whose excitation maxima coincide with the spectral lines emitted by the hot mercury plasma. The most common light sources used today are light emitting diodes leds.

Discussion of the properties of various fluorescence filter combinations. This accessory has at its upper end the standard royal microscopical society rms thread and can be screwed into the nosepiece. The mercury arc lamp has long been the mainstay light source for fluorescence microscopy because of the bright spectral bands it generates within the visible wavelengths. Regardless of the pitfalls the mercury arc lamp remains a workhorse in fluorescence microscopy and is still considered one of the best illumination sources especially for low abundance in effect those that have sparse targets or weak fluorophores whose excitation maxima coincide with the spectral lines emitted by the hot mercury plasma.

Their properties mean they are usually superior in comparison to arc lamps and tungsten halogen lamps which were more commonly used in the past. Lamp alignment microscope companies may offer an optional centering screen to facilitate the centering of the image of the lamp arc to the back aperture of the objective. Focus and alignment of mercury and xenon arc lamps. Visitors can gain practice aligning and focusing the arc lamp in a mercury or xenon burner with this interactive tutorial which simulates how the lamp is adjusted in a fluorescence microscope.

Arc lamps lose efficiency and are more likely to shatter if used beyond their rated lifetime 2 00 300 hours. Mercury vapour lamps are used to provide a uv light source for epifluorescence microscopy. Mercury and xenon arc lamps are now widely utilized as illumination sources for a large number of investigations in widefield fluorescence microscopy. Traditionally almost every research or clinical grade fluorescence microscope has been equipped with a mercury arc lamp.