Light microscopy is still the single most versitile single analytical instrument availible. One of the reasons for this capability is the variety of properties that can be seen or made visible by controling the illumination systems. The light microscope is basically an optical bench that can be used in a variety of ways. A new section on this site is a guide to the optical properties of particles. It includes a brief introduction to the light microscope as an optical bench. Optical Properties of Particles

There are about 8,000 photographs of particles on this site. I have started a guide to these particles to aid in identification. By clicking on the particle showing the feature of interest it will carry you to the next level with a number of additional particles that have similar features. It is just in the begining stages but you may find it useful. Check this out at this location: Guide to Particle Identification.

I have just entered the photographs of the particles in the mysterious White Rain that fell in Washington State. Bats leave a distinctive mark in an office building. Pollens of Hawaii is a new addition. Only 15 plants at this time but it will grow.

Smoke Damage contains a particle signature of the source. House fires, forest fires, brush fires, fireplace smoke, industrial fires, cigarettes, trucks, kitchen fires, etc. all leave a characteristic signature. Some of the particles that mark these sources are shown here.

Did you know animals can be identified by their hair?

Particles as small as 4 nanometers can be "seen" using the light microscope. Important information about particles smaller than 2 micrometers and fibers with diameters below 0.1 micrometers can be gathered with a light microscope. Check out these two sites: Atmospheric Particles Smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) and Asbestos fibers with diameters below 0.5 micrometers.

Bee Pollen is the pollen collected by bees to feed the hive. It is collected and sold as food supliment. Honey pollen is the pollen from the plants that went into a specific batch of honey. A few examples are Pollen from Australian Honey,pollen from Hawaiian Honey, pollen from California cactus honey and others. See the index for the pollens in honey from different locations (listed under Honey From) or to pollens listed by plant, by family, or by feature in the index under "Pollen". Go to the general pollen file for a guide to pollens in general.

The large transformers in Sub-Stations are filled with thousands of gallons of oil. The particles that are in the oil provide a history of the transformer. This file shows some of those particles. I will be adding information on what each particle type means in the future but for now you can see the types that are there at: Transformer oil particles.

Just For Fun
Home
Office
School
Construction or Remodeling Debris
Print Shop
Auto Body Shop
Warehouse
Machine Shop
Aluminum Oxide (Emery, Corundum)
Diamond
Garnet
Pumice
Quartz
Silicon Carbide
Slag
Cleaning Agglomerates
HVAC System Agglomerates
Remodeling Agglomerates
Wet Road Agglomerates
Asbestos Containing Construction Materials
Asbestos Fibers
Asbestos In Nature
Quick Overview of Biologicals in General

Algae
Amoeba
Bacteria
Bone
Capillitium
Diatoms
Fern Spores and Sporangium
Feathers
Fungal Spores
Hyphae
Phytoliths
Pollens
Rotifers
Silicoflagellates
Wood
Black Particles from Combustion
Black Particles not from Combustion
Black Particles in a Home, No Fire
Key to the Identification of Black Particles
Aluminum (by Cs₂SO₄)
Ammonium (by H₂PtCl₆)
Calcium (by H₂SO₄)
Chlorine (AgNO₃)
Electromotive Substitution
Lead (by KI)
Manganese (by NaCO₃ Fusion)
Reduced Sulfur (by NaN₃)
Sodium Chloride
Sulfate (by AgNO₃)
Nitrate (by Nitron Sulfate)
Zinc (by K₂Hg(SCN)₄)
Bagase
Burnt Leaf
Candle Soot
Cenospheres
Charred Grass
Charred Wood
Forest Fire
Oil Lamp Soot
Grinding Debris
Insulation
Joint Compound
Plaster
Sawdust
Wallboard
Weld Debris
Air
Oil
Surfaces
Water
(Dispersion Staining is an analytical technique that uses colors created by differences in dispersion) Becke' Line Dispersion Staining
Oblique Illumination Dispersion Staining
Dark Field Dispersion Staining
Objective Stop Dispersion Staining
Phase Contrast Dispersion Staining
Breakers
Brushings
Micro-electronic
Transformers
Tap Changers
Quick Overview of Fibers in General

Asbestos Fibers (Legally Controlled mineral fibers)
Clothing Fibers (Fibers used to make textiles)
Feather Barbules (Individual elongated elements from feathers)
Glass Fibers (Man-made vitreous fiber)
Hair (Mammalian)
Insect Fibers (Silks)
Insect Hair (Setae, scales, bristles, etc.)
Mineral Fibers (Much higher tensile strength along long axis)
Paper Fibers (Fibers used in paper)
Plant Fibers (Elongated integral elements within the body of the plant)
Plant Hairs (Elongated elements that form on the surface of the plant)
Synthetic Fibers (Man-made polymer fibers)
Quick Overview of Home Particles in General

Cat Dander
Clothing Fiber
Cosmetics
Pet Debris
Ghosting
Human Skin Flakes
Humus
Mite Frass
Paper Fiber
Starch
Carpet Beetle (Dermestidae)
Insect Debris
Lice
Spiders
Ticks
Composite Materials
Carbon Fiber Composites
Glass Fiber Composites
Failure Analysis
Bolt Corrosion
Carbon Fiber Composite Failure
Load Tap Changer
Pipe Corrosion
Printed Circuitboards
Stress in Formed Glass
Stress in Polymer Weld
Medical Devices
(Click here for images of rock thin sections.)
Sand
Cat Dander
Clothing Fiber
Dog Dander
Human Skin Flakes
Humus
HVAC
Ink
Shoe Wear
Toner
Aerosols
Marine (Sodium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate)
Vehicle (Nitrates, Sulfates)
Industrial Emissions
Composite Fabrication Shop
Cement Manufacture
Flyash
Furniture Manufacture
Glass Manufacture
Grain Mills
Iron Fabrication
Maintenance Shop
Publishing Facility
Weld Shop
Road Debris
Cenospheres
Road Dust
Tire Wear
Vehicle Emissions
Hairs
Moss
Pollen
Cleaning Debris
Detergents
Grits
Vinyl Floor Surfacing

Dry-Erase Ink
Pencil Debris
Sand
Assemblages, How Environments are Characterized
Super Assemblage: Outdoor-Natural
Forest Fire
Insects
Natural Minerals (From Soils)
Plant Parts
Pollen
Combustion
Industrial
Road
Home
Insect
Mites
HVAC System

HVAC System

Home
Combustion
Construction
Human
Copy Machines and Printing
Human Debris
Human Debris
Writting Debris