A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

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Beatsy
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A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by Beatsy »

Old as the hills by the looks of it, but I've not come across it before. Looks super-simple and fast to use and way better than fiddling with a micrometer.

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/ ... =1&pg=PA11

Shame I already measured a few years supply, I would have liked this gizmo much better!

rjlittlefield
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by rjlittlefield »

That's a wonderfully elegant design!

I have no need to measure cover slips, but I appreciate just seeing the gauge!

--Rik

Lou Jost
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by Lou Jost »

A model of out-of-the-box thinking!

Bob-O-Rama
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by Bob-O-Rama »

Give me lever small enough and two fulcrums on which to place it, and I shall measure its thickness.

Lou Jost
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by Lou Jost »

But where will you stand?

Beatsy
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by Beatsy »

On the turtles, silly :D

PeteM
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by PeteM »

Clever idea from a PhD student at the time that gauge was made - with an illustrious career to follow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinya_Inou%C3%A9

MarkSturtevant
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by MarkSturtevant »

One should wonder why this has not been commercially developed.
Mark Sturtevant
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PeteM
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Re: A neat idea for a coverslip thickness gauge

Post by PeteM »

MarkSturtevant wrote:
Sun Aug 15, 2021 6:02 am
One should wonder why this has not been commercially developed.
Microscopy is a pretty small market in the scheme of things - probably why no one has yet bothered?

Hobbyists using hand-me-down or cheaper new scopes probably don't bother to measure coverslip thickness.

Labs and suppliers with tight optical imaging needs are probably happy to use (just grab one) and sell (selling the "blades" rather than "razors") pricey 1.5H "high performance" coverslips.

A stand-mounted micrometer is about as quick and cheap (some under $50) or even a cheaper digital caliper for those who both care to hit .17mm and are frugal enough to sort through a batch. It takes someone like Inou to want to optimize this sorting for their own use.

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