Immersion Oil 500ml

Description

Immersion oil increases the resolving power of the microscope by replacing the air gap between the immersion objective lens and cover glass with a high refractive index medium and reducing light refraction. Nikon manufactures four types of Immersion Oil for microscopy.

The 100x lens is immersed in a drop of oil placed on the slide in order to eliminate any air gaps and lossof light due to refraction (bending of the light) as the light passes from glass (slide) → air →​​​​​​​ glass (objective lens). Immersion oil has the same refractive index of glass.

Without oil, light waves reflect off the slide specimen through the glass cover slip, through the air, and into the microscope lens (see the colored figure to the right). Unless a wave comes out at a 90-degree angle, it bends when it hits a new substance, the amount of bend depending on the angle. This distorts the image. Air has a very different index of refraction from glass, making for a larger bend compared to oil, which has an index more similar to glass. Specially manufactured oil can have nearly exactly the same refractive index as glass, making an oil-immersed lens nearly as effective as having glass entirely around the sample (which would be impractical).