Allyn Weaks writes (part):
>You all have been so helpful in the past, that I'm going to bother you again
>:-)
>>This is really three related questions (well, many, many questions on
>three related topics :-)) about good microscopes (and books about
>microscopes) for various purposes; for me (serious amateur with
>non-biological scientific background), for beginning adults, and for kids.
Before you buy a microscope I would recommend that you contact your nearest
college or university and ask if they have any scopes you might "borrow".
It sounds like you might be retired or for whatever reason would be a
wonderfully useful volunteer around our labs, greenhouse, etc. I would
consider "loaning" you a microscope in exchange for some volunteer service.
Of course, while you're "working" in the department you'd have free access
to some very good microscopes (you could bring material from your garden
and look at it here). It's very difficult for us as a public university to
sell equipment except at auction or some other bidding process. It's much
easier for us to "loan" equipment we no longer need/use. Even if you
eventually buy a scope, this would let you test the features of a variety
of scopes before plunking down the big bucks it would take to buy a
suitable (not even research grade) microscope.
Dr. David W. Kramer
Department of Plant Biology
Ohio State University at Mansfield
1680 University Drive
Mansfield, OH 44906
(419) 755-4344 FAX: (419) 755-4367
e-mail: kramer.8 at osu.edu
