The Mirror.
The mode in which an object is illuminated is, in the words of the late Andrew Ross, “second only in importance to the excellence of the glass through which it is seen.” To ensure good illumination the mirror should be in direct co-ordination with the objective and eye-piece; it must be regarded as a part of the same system, and tending by a combined series of acts to a perfect result. Illumination of the object is recognised as of three kinds or qualities—reflected, transmitted, and refracted light. For the illumination of transparent objects, transmitted light is brought into use; for opaque objects, reflected light is needed.
The mirror should be about 2½ or 3 inches in diameter, and it must not be fixed, but made to slide up and down the stem under the stage, so that the rays of light emanating from it may be brought to a focus. The utility of the mirror is so obvious that it is occasionally passed over in silence by writers. To myself it appears to be an important accessory of the microscope, and I shall therefore proceed to combine theory with practice in what I have to say with regard to the mirror.
Fig. 152.—Principal Focus of Mirror.
The microscope mirror should be the segment of a true sphere, and its centre that of a true curvature. If the mirror has a true circular boundary, the central point on line A ([Fig. 152]) of the reflecting surface, is the pole of the same. The line A C is known as its principal axis, and any other straight line through C, which meets the mirror, is its secondary axis. When the incident axis is perfectly parallel to the principal axis, the reflected rays converge to a point F, its principal focus. So much for the theory of the mirror. Now we come to its practical use.
Simple as the mirror of the microscope may appear to be, if the curve of the surface is not perfect, it will yield a secondary reflection or double pencil of rays. The plane mirror will occasionally be found to emit more than one reflection of the lamp-flame; this we find may be corrected by rotating the mirror in its cell. Many years ago I proposed to meet a difficulty of the kind by arranging a rectangular prism on a separate stand, shown in [Fig. 153], consisting of a prism A B, mounted in gimbal C, D, and E, secured to a brass tube G, fitted to the stem, and thus made to take the place of the mirror.
The direct method of employing the mirror, that more generally resorted to, is by reflecting rays from the concave surface; the plane surface is preferred when the condenser is used. Whichever is employed, it should not be forgotten that the optic axis must be preserved throughout, and so brought to the centre of the open tube of the microscope. Another method is to interpose a bull’s-eye lens, and in this way supply the mirror with a beam of parallel rays of light. The plane side of the bull’s-eye lens should be turned towards the lamp, so that lamp, bull’s-eye, sub-stage condenser, and objective, are brought into an exact line, the bull’s-eye being set at right-angles to the line. A piece of thin white paper held across the bottom of the sub-stage will serve to show whether the rays of light are fairly parallel. The next care is to focus the object on the stage, and then the sub-stage condenser on the slide; further correction should be made by means of the centring screws of the sub-stage, or by moving the bull’s-eye lens or lamp slightly, thus perfecting the arrangements for working with parallel rays of light.
Fig. 153.—Rectangular Prism.