What is Laser Confocal Microscopy

Confocal microscopy, which is mainly used in the industrial and scientific world, is not the easiest of subjects to understand. In addition, the type of microscope used is also difficult to comprehend.

These microscopes are just as technical as a transmission electron microscope but they use different techniques and accessories in order to see the microscope images that are produced.

The confocal microscope, which was patented in 1957 by Marvin Minsky, was the predecessor to the confocal laser scanning microscope which is widely used today. The CLSM, as it is often referred to, is used extensively throughout biological science and in the evaluation of various eye diseases. It has also been utilized as a data retrieval mechanism in several 3D optical data storage systems as well as for semiconductor inspection.

According to Wikipedia, confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique used to increase micrograph contrast and/or to reconstruct three-dimensional images by using a spatial pinhole to eliminate out-of-focus light or flare in specimens that are thicker than the focal plane.

For a better understanding of how the confocal microscope works, the physics department at Emory University have a non-technical explanation, complete with diagrams, of this type of microscopy. You will be able to learn, step by step, how particles are related to fluorescence and how this plays an important role in the world of confocal microscopes. The information about the microscopes is still complicated, but with a little concentration, you will be able to learn how these remarkable magnifying instruments work and how they are used to study the mysteries of both the past and the present.

If you want to dig even deeper into the world confocal microscopes, another great source of information is Microscopyu, which is devoted to the various forms of microscopy. Once again, the information provided is not over technical and the terminology used is presented in a manner that the layman can understand. As well as being able to learn more about the confocal microscope, you will also be able to view images that are taken using the microscope. While you might think that they resemble a Vegas laser show, you should remember that a laser is in fact used for this type of fluorescence microscopy.

Confocal microscopy is a technical subject that is difficult to get to grips with. However, thanks to the Internet, you can find articles, written in layman's terms, to explain almost anything. No longer are you limited to the encyclopedia and the array of technical terms that are often associated with anything scientific. Confocal microscopes are amazing in the images that they provide of a world never seen before. Technology has come a long way since the beginnings of the confocal microscope.