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Re: [OM] [sorta OT] microscope objective: aperture vs resolving power

Subject: Re: [OM] [sorta OT] microscope objective: aperture vs resolving power
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 10:08:19 -0700
sorry for the OT, but in my bio lab manual (gagh!) there's this statement to the effect that the higher the Numerical Aperture (NA), the higher the resolving power. IIRC, the 100x obj has NA 1.25 and the
4x obj. is something like .10..

what the heck does aperture have to do with resolving power anyway???

/S
--
"We apologise for the inconvenience."



Don't forget that F stops are a ratio of the diameter of the aperture to the focal length. To use Ansel Adams' spectacular example(at least to a 35mm user): "With an eight inch lens, a maximum aperture of 1 inch diameter would represent f/8. With a 4 inch lens, f/4 would also be represented by a 1 inch aperture; f/8 would be represented by a 1/2 inch aperture."

Since microscope apertures are always maximum they are proportional to the focal length which provides you with magnification. I am guessing that in microscopy usage that resolving power is used as a term instead of magnification.


--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California


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