Chapter 2

A type of scanning probe microscope. It can be used to study surfaces of objects at high magnification by moving a probe over the specimen's surface

A microscope that illuminates the specimen directly with bright light and forms a dark image on a brighter background

A light microscope in which laser-derived light scans across the specimen at a single plane of focus; stray light from other parts of the specimen is blocked out to give an image with excellent contrast and resolution

A microscope that brightly illuminates the specimen while leaving the background dark

Microscopy that combines two beams of plane-polarized light after passing through a specimen; their interference is used to reate the image

Procedures that divide microbes into separate groups based on staining properties

The process in which the internal and external structures of cells and organisms are preserved and fixed in position

A type of microscopy that exposes a specimen to light of a specific wavelength and then forms an image from the fluorescent light produced; usually the specimen is stained with a fluorescent dye (fluorochrome)

A differential staining procedure that divides bacteria into gram-positive and gram-negative groups based on their ability to retain crystal violet when decolorized with an organic solvent such as ethanol

A staining procedure in which a dye is used to make the background dark while the specimen is unstaineed

Term used to describe a microscope that retains proper focus when the objectives are changed

A microscope that converts slight differences in refractive index and cell density into easily observed differences in light intensity

A measure of how much a substance deflects a light of ray from a straigh path as it passes from one medium to another

The ability of a microscope to separate or distinguish between small objects that are close together

An electron microscope that scans a beam of electrons over the surface of a specimen and forms an image of the surface from the electrons that are emitted by it

Staining a specimen with a single dye

A microscope in which an image is formed by passing an electron beam through a specimen and focusing the scattered electrons with magnetic lenses