Optical microscopy, computer methods

Until the advent of modem physical methods for surface studies and computer control of experiments, our knowledge of electrode processes was derived mostly from electrochemical measurements (Chapter 12). By clever use of these measurements, together with electrocapillary studies, it was possible to derive considerable information on processes in the inner Helmholtz plane. Other important tools were the use of radioactive isotopes to study adsorption processes and the derivation of mechanisms for hydrogen evolution from isotope separation factors. Early on, extensive use was made of optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in the study of electrocrystallization of metals. In the past 30 years enormous progress has been made in the development and application of new physical methods for study of electrode processes at the molecular and atomic level. 

The computer age has brought about considerable innovation in the operation of laboratory instrumentation. One consequence of this is the wider acceptance and utilization of the optical microscope as a quantitative analytical instrument. A brief literature survey illustrates the diversity of disciplines and optical methods associated with the development of computer interfaced optical microscopy. This is followed by a description of how our methods of fluorescence, interferometry and stereology, nsed for characterizing polymeric foams, have incorporated computers. 

In addition, the crystal structures of both the racemic copolyamidc 11.7 and the cquimolccular mixture of the two configurationally homogeneous d- and i.-polyamides were studied and compared with that of optically pure 110.93 This study combined X-ray. electron microscopy, and 13C CP-MAS NMR measurements with computational methods. The two optically compensated and the optically pure polymers were shown to be highly crystalline systems the melting point of the racemic mixture was 250°C, considerably higher than those of the homopolymer (232°C) and the racemic polymer (226°C). The crystal structure of the racemic mixture could be... 

The macroscopic structure of matter can be assessed, for example, by optical microscopy and can then be linked to its microscopic origin through X-ray, neutron, or electron diffraction experiments and the various forms of electron and atomic-force microscopy. A factor of 10 -10 separates the atomic, nanometer scale from the macroscopic, micrometer scale. Macroscopic dynamic techniques ultimately linked to molecular motion are, for example, dynamic mechanical and dielectric analyses and calorimetry. In order to have direct access to the details of the underlying microscopic motion, one must, however, use computational methods. A realistic microscopic description of motion has recently become possible through accurate molecular dynamics simulations and will be described in this review. It will be shown that the basic large-ampHtude molecular motion exists on a picosecond time scale (1 ps = 10 s), a ffictor at... 

This handbook presents a comprehensive overview on the physics of the plasmon-emitter interaction, ranging from electromagnetism to quantum mechanics, from metal-enhanced fluorescence to surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and from optical microscopy to the synthesis of metal nanoparticles, filling the gap in the literature of this emerging field. It is useful for graduate students as well as researchers from various fields who want to enter the field of molecular plasmonics. The text allows experimentalists to have a solid theoretical reference at a different level of accuracy and theoreticians to find new stimuli for novel computational methods and emerging applications. 

Laser diffraction is the most commonly used instrumental method for determining the droplet size distribution of emulsions. The possibility of using laser diffraction for this purpose was realized many years ago (van der Hulst, 1957 Kerker, 1969 Bohren and Huffman, 1983). Nevertheless, it is only the rapid advances in electronic components and computers that have occurred during the past decade or so that has led to the development of commercial analytical instruments that are specifically designed for particle size characterization. These instruments are simple to use, generate precise data, and rapidly provide full particle size distributions. It is for this reason that they have largely replaced the more time-consuming and laborious optical and electron microscopy techniques. 

The microstructures of the consolidated and deformed samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, optical and electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). The samples for mechanical testing have been prepared by spark erosion. The linear thermal expansion was determined by using a thermomechanical system (TMA). The temperature-dependent elastic moduli have been measured by the resonance frequency and the pulse-echo method. The bulk moduli were determined by synchrotron radiation diffraction using a high-pressure diamond-die cell at HASYLAB. The compression and creep tests were performed with computer-controlled tensile testing and creep machines. 

A more direct optical method has been introduced whereby a membrane-permeant, charged dye equilibrates across the membrane of interest. Ideally the dye will equilibrate rapidly and show minimal binding to materials on either side of the membrane (34). Using quantitative confocal fluorescence microscopy, the fluorescence of the dye on either side of the membrane is measured as fluorescence intensity is linearly proportional to fluorophore concentration, the measured intensities can be substituted for the ion concentrations ([M" ] and [M ]o) in equation 1 and the potential obtained (34). This technique is ultimately limited by the spatial resolution of the confocal microscope—it works well for large compartments in whole cells. Recent computational approaches to image analysis have allowed the spatial resolution to be increased to the level where mitochondrial membrane potential can be monitored by such means in individual cells (35). 

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