What is the Stereo Boom Microscope: Advantages, Design and Uses
Stereoscopy is still a highly valued technique used for magnification, particularly because it presents a view of the sample specimen in 3D. Most traditional microscopy techniques provide a two-dimensional view of the specimen, wherein the sample appears flat. With a stereo microscope, the specimen is more life-like, appearing with more depth. It is the preferred microscopy technique for many fields of study and research. More recently, it has also emerged as one of the most popular techniques used by hobbyists and amateurs. Among the different types of microscopy instruments using this type of technique is the stereo boom microscope, an instrument that utilizes a boom stand in order to provide the user with a more efficient means to magnify certain portions of the specimen, especially if it is difficult to cut or is too large and wide to view effectively with more traditional microscopy.
Stereo boom microscopes are very valuable instruments for a wide range of industries, such as medicine, IT, manufacturing, biotechnology, dentistry and biology. It is also highly useful for many industrial fields. Many of the best known brand names manufacture this type of microscope and there are plenty of reliable units available.
What is a stereo boom microscope?
The stereo boom microscope is essentially the marriage of two technologies: stereoscopy and the humble basic mechanical design involving the boom. The boom is an extendable beam, usually located overhead or on the upper portion of the instrument. The boom is essentially a pole from which the main component of the instrument, which is the microscope, is hung.
Stereoscopy, on the other hand, is a well-known technique used in microscopy. Usually, with traditional microscopes, the specimen will look like a flat object, with no depth and very often, inverted. In most cases, this type of image processing will usually work, particularly for specimens that are sliced flat to begin with. However, with many other specimens, a 3D image is much more preferred. This is where the stereo boom microscope comes to play.
Stereoscopy involves a slight variation in the set-up of the microscope. In more traditional microscopy, the objective lens processes one image of the object. With stereoscopy, there are actually two images of the object that are being processed by the instrument. To the untrained eye, the two images will appear exactly the same. However, one of the images is actually taken from a slightly different angle. Once these images are processed by the microscope, they both come out of the eyepieces as a single image. Due to the very slight variation in the angle from which they were taken, the image produced is three-dimensional.
The instrument is capable of doing this thanks to the presence of two objectives. These two objectives produce and manage two different optical paths. These optical paths produce images of the same object using two angles. These optical paths then pass through two eyepieces. When the observer views the image, what he sees is an object that appears lifelike and real. Stereo microscopy is also capable of producing laterally correct images, which eliminates the issues of inverted views. If an observer looks through the eyepiece and moves the specimen to the right, what he will see is the specimen moving in the same direction. With traditional microscopy, the image will appear to move to the left.
Advantages of the stereo boom microscope
The stereo boom microscope is excellent for use with wider materials such as circuit boards, textiles, wood, electrical appliance, geological samples and other plain surfaces. Circuit boards, for example, will be extremely difficult to view for inspection during quality control. Generally, traditional microscopy will allow only a few inches of the sample to be manipulated and effectively viewed on the stage. With a stereo boom microscope, a few feet of the material or specimen may be viewed simply by moving the boom to the appropriate location.
The stereo boom microscope is also very convenient to use because the instrument is mostly out of the way and is easy to manipulate. Very large and heavy specimens are very difficult to move and adjust but with stereo boom microscopes, the observer simply has to move the instrument itself in order to view the area of the specimen desired. It is capable of handling any shape of specimen and can be used to view the object from virtually any angle.
The stereo boom microscope is a very stable instrument. Most models usually handle objects up to 18 inches high, even more. The clearance between the lens and the base or the object is usually 24″, which is enough room to accommodate very thick objects.