Neutron tomography of Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes
| Autor: | Lambert van Eijck, Jeroen Plomp, Tiemen Cocquyt, Zhou Zhou |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Microscope
media_common.quotation_subject education Materials Science Art history 050905 science studies law.invention law 0601 history and archaeology reproductive and urinary physiology health care economics and organizations Research Articles media_common Multidisciplinary 05 social sciences Neutron tomography SciAdv r-articles Optics 06 humanities and the arts Art humanities Lens (optics) OA-Fund TU Delft 060105 history of science technology & medicine Applied Sciences and Engineering 0509 other social sciences Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Science Advances Science Advances, 7(20) |
| ISSN: | 2375-2548 |
| Popis: | To make the microscopes with which he pioneered microbiology, Van Leeuwenhoek used a lens design from an unexpected source. The technique of neutron tomography has, after 350 years, enabled a first look inside the iconic single-lens microscopes of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Van Leeuwenhoek’s 17th-century discovery of “animalcules” marks the birth of microbiology. His skillfully self-produced microscope lenses remained unsurpassed for over 150 years. Neutron tomography now enabled us to reveal the lens types Van Leeuwenhoek used. We argue that Van Leeuwenhoek’s instruments incorporate some innovations that testify to an awareness of concurrent developments. In particular, our analysis shows that for making his best-performing microscopes, Van Leeuwenhoek deployed a lens-making procedure popularized in 1678 by Robert Hooke. This is notable, as Hooke always wanted to find the secret of Van Leeuwenhoek’s lenses, but never managed to do so. Therefore, Van Leeuwenhoek was far from the isolated scholar he is often claimed to be; rather, his secrecy about his lenses was motivated by an attempt to conceal his indebtedness to Hooke. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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