A

David

Darling

phase-contrast microscope

phase-contrast microscope

A phase-contrast microscope is a type of microscope used for examining transparent specimens. It is widely used in biology for studying cells and thin slices of tissue. Light passing through the specimen slows down and becomes out of phase with the original light. Differences in thickness or density in the specimen cause diffraction patterns. A phase-contrast plate converts these to interference patterns, which manifest themselves as large contrasts in brightness of different parts of microscope image.