The central figure shows the construction of our high power dry objectives. A hemispherical front lens is combined with two doublets or sometimes triplets. The front lens is the chief magnifier of the combination, while the other lenses serve to correct the various aberrations.
The Oil-immersion, represented by the last illustration consists of a front lens, hemispherical, behind which is a meniscus, which is in turn followed by a doublet and a triplet, these latter acting as the correcting lenses of the combination.
We manufacture both Achromatic and Apochromatic objectives. They differ in that the glasses made use of in the apochromatics and the manner in which they are combined permit a more perfect correction of chromatic aberration. This advantage is not gained without a certain sacrifice of simplicity in construction; by avoiding the use of flint glass having a high refractive index and substituting materials to take the place of crownglass. The apochromatics as a matter of fact do resolve the fine markings of test objects (butterfly scales and diatomes) somewhat more clearly than the achromatics, but the difference is slight and in ordinary stained microscope preparations is hardly detectable.
The correction of both achromatics and apochromatics is complete. The ordinary Huyghenian eye-pieces are consequently well adapted for use with the objectives of either construction. Only with the highest powers is it desirable to make use of the so-called "compensation" eye-pieces.
The achromatics and Huyghenian eye-pieces are also well adapted to the requirements of photomicrography, special objectives being unnecessary for this purpose. This statement is substantiated by the excellent results obtained with our achromatic objectives, as shown in the photomicrographs accompanying our brochure on Photomicrography:—"Anleitung zur Mikrophotographie".
In making use of the higher power objectives—from No. 5 on—it should be remembered, that the lenses are corrected for cover glasses of 0,17 mm in thickness and for a microscope tube-length of 170 mm. When using the oil-immersion objectives it is particularly desirable, that this exact tube length should be employed. With a view to facilitate the adjustment of the tube-length the draw tubes of all our larger stands are graduated in millimeters, the scale indicating the exact length of the microscope tube in any given position of the draw tube. In this connection it should be remembered, that the width of the collar of the nose-pieces is 15 millimeters, and that consequently, when a nose-piece is attached to the tube the reading of the draw tube scale should be 155 mm instead of 170 when the adjustment is proper.
Figure comparative merits of the dry and immersion systems.
The above sketch may serve to make clear the advantages of the immersion objectives over those of the dry series. It is intended to represent diagrammatically a section through a cover-glass and the front lens of an objective, one half of the figure representing the conditions present in the case of the Oil-immersion, the other those which are present in the dry objectives. It will be noticed that by the interposition of a drop of oil of the same index of refraction as the glass between the cover-glass and the objective the refraction which occurs in the dry system when the light leaves the upper surface of the cover-glass is done away with. Since this second refraction is attended with much loss of light it must be evident, that in the immersion system a much greater quantity of light enters the objective than is possible, other things being equal, in objectives of the dry system.
If we let u represent one half the angular aperture of an objective, represented in the diagram by D'BN in the case of the immersion, and n the index of refraction of the medium interposed between the cover-glass and the objective we have in the formula n sin. u a mathematical expression of the optic power of the various systems of lenses, or in other words for what is designated the numerical aperture.