A conventional microscope is inconvenient in that you have to look into it with one eye, which quickly leads to fatigue. This disadvantage is absent in binocular microscopes and devices equipped with special video cameras.
Instructions
Step 1
Buy a webcam, the lens of which is not recessed into the body, but protrudes from it at least a centimeter.
Step 2
Use a vernier caliper to measure the diameters and lengths of the microscope eyepiece and webcam lens.
Step 3
Make (preferably using a lathe) a special adapter. Calculate its dimensions using the following formula: Ltot = Lob + Lok + 3 mm, where Ltot is the total length of the attachment, mm, Lok is the length of the objective, mm, Lok is the length of the eyepiece, mm, 3 mm is the margin; D = d max + 3 mm, where D is the outer diameter, d max is the diameter of the objective or eyepiece, whichever is larger.
Step 4
Make cylindrical indentations inside the attachment to match the diameters and lengths of the objective and eyepiece with a small margin so that the attachment can be put on and removed without much effort. Make a through hole between the indentations, the diameter of which is equal to the arithmetic mean between the diameters of the objective and the eyepiece.
Step 5
If there is no lathe, you will have to make an adapter from two cardboard tubes. In one of them, the inner diameter should be equal to the diameter of the eyepiece, and in the other, the diameter of the objective. The tubes should fit tightly into each other. When using such a nozzle, it will be somewhat more difficult to center the image.
Step 6
Use the adapter attachment to mount the webcam onto the microscope. Connect it to your computer, configure all the necessary software (exactly how it depends on which OS is installed on the machine - Linux or Windows). Initially, you will see a black background. Turn on the microscope illuminator, and place the specimen on its stage. As a homemade preparation, you can use shorn with glasses. First, adjust the light (the center of the light spot should coincide with the center of the screen), and then focus (the structure of the preparation should be clearly visible). Pan the camera carefully so that the screen image is not upside-down or at an angle. You will quickly appreciate the convenience of the digital microscope, which is almost effortless to your eyes and allows you to take pictures.
