MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY 



5393 



MIDDELBURG 



lenses out 



ope 



Reader for fi< 

 adjustment 



Hilled Head 

 controlling '- 

 fine adjustment 



Fine adjustmeni 

 to Sub-Stage 



improvement in the definition of 

 (In- imago obtained. With tin- 

 f the way to make 

 of molten quartz it 

 to construct a 

 which could bo used 

 with ultra \iolet light and enable 

 ol.jeets to In- examined that are 

 only one :!40,000th of an inch in 

 tliiimeter. A further advance- 

 ment in niieii'scopy has been 

 made in recent years by the use 

 of polaii-cd light, enabling ob- 

 jects one-sixth of a millionth of 

 mi inch in nize to be examined. 

 The combined use of the micro- 

 scope and the cinematograph 

 holds out possibilities of the 

 study of the ulti- 

 mateconstitution 

 of matter that 

 may have a re- 

 volutionary effect 

 on the progress 

 of mankind. See 

 Achromatic Lens ; 

 Lens; Metal- 

 lurgy; Optics. 



Micro scop- 

 i c a 1 Society , ROYAL. 

 British learned society. 

 Founded in 1839, its ob- 

 jects are to promote 

 microscopic and biologi- 

 cal science by discussion 

 and publication of 

 matters pertaining to the 

 microscope, especially 

 improvements in its con- 

 struction and application 

 to bio logical research. 

 The society publishes a 

 quarterly journal and has its head- 

 quarters at 11, Chandos Street, 

 Cavendish Square, London, W 



Microtasimeter (Gr. mikros, 

 small ; tasis, extension ; metron, 

 measure) Instrument for the 

 measurement of small variations 

 of temperature or moisture. In- 

 vented by Thomas Edison, it acts 

 by the effect of the pressure of an 

 expanding rod of vulcanite for 

 temperature, or of one containing 

 gelatin for moisture, on the electri- 

 cal resistance of a piece of carbon 

 placed in the circuit of a galvanic 

 battery. The instrument has the 

 disadvantage of not recovering 

 automatically its original electrical 

 resistance when the pressure is re- 

 moved. See Bolometer. 



Microtome (Gr. mikrjs, small; 

 tome, cutting). ; Instrument for 

 cutting thin sections of organic 

 tissue, etc., for microscopic exami- 

 nations. The substance to be cut 

 is either frozen in gum, etc., or 

 embedded in paraffin or celloidin, 

 which enables slices of any thick- 

 ness between '01 mm. and '005 

 mm. to be obtained. 



The instrument comprises a 

 razor or a knife-edge which may 



itself move or remain stationary ; 

 in the latter case the specimen to 

 bo sliced slides over the cutting 

 edge. In the Cambridge . rocking 

 microtome, the substance to be 

 cut is embedded in paraffin con- 

 tained in a tube, which can be 

 advanced towards the cutting edge 

 in accordance with the thickness of 



fye/weca 



Draw-Ma 



-Tube 



Controlling Milled Head 

 of Hackwork Draw - 

 Tube 



JUilled Heads controlling 

 \pinlon acting on Rack * 

 \for coarse adjustment 



VDjective - 

 High Power 



Object! vt-Low Power 



Mechanical Stage 

 for Slide 



""Centring Screws 

 ofStafe 

 Billed Heads for 

 controlling 

 movements of 

 Stage 



Cdrn pound Sub -Stage 



with centring Screws 



to carry Sub- Staqe 



Condenser ' 



rs 



Plane & 

 concave 

 Uirrors 



A- nead controllii... 

 KM & Pinion adjustment 

 of Sub -Stage J 



Microscope. Descriptive photograph illustrating 

 the main parts of a high-power microscope 



the specimen required, the degree 

 of movement of the tube being read 

 off on an arc graduated in thousands 

 of a millimetre. 



Micturition. Act of voiding 

 urine. Undue frequency of mic- 

 turition is a frequent symptom in 

 affections of the kidney and blad- 

 der. Retention of the urine may be 

 due to stricture, enlargement of the 

 prostate gland, which is likely to 

 occur in elderly men, or a stone 

 blocking the urethra, the channel 

 through which the urine is voided. 



Midas. Legendary king of 

 Phrygia. Having done a favour to 

 Silenus, the companion of the god 

 Bacchus, he was told by the god 



Microtome. Delicate instrument for 



preparing specimens of tissue for 



the microscope 



B V eottrteiy of Surgical lift. Co.. Ltd. 



Microscope. Sectional diagram 

 showing how the light passes from 

 the reflecting glass through the 

 condenser to the object on the slide 

 and thence through lenses to the eye 



that whatever he asked of him 

 would be granted. Midas asked 

 that whatever he touched should 

 be turned into gold. Finding that 

 even his food turned to gold be- 

 fore it reached his lips, he asked 

 Bacchus to revoke the gift. By 

 command of the god he bathed in 

 the springs of the river Pactolus, 

 and the baleful power left him ; 

 from that time onwards the river 

 was noted for its golden sands. 

 Midas was once chosen to decide in 

 a contest on the flute and the lyre 

 between Pan and Apollo. Midas 

 having decided in favour of Pan, 

 Apollo changed the king's ears into 

 those of an ass. Midas successfully 

 concealed the deformity from 

 everyone except his barber, who 

 was so oppressed by the secret that, 

 to relieve his feelings, he dug a hole 

 into the ground and whispered into 

 it the words " King Midas has the 

 ears of an ass." From here grew up 

 a reed which, when moved by the 

 wind, divulged the secret to the 

 world. Midas was the name of many 

 kings of Phrygia. Pron. My-das. 



Mid- Channel. Tragedy by 

 A. W. Pinero. It was produced at 

 the St. James's Theatre, London, 

 Sept. 2, 1909. A story of un- 

 happy marriage, it tells how the 

 wife of a wealthy stockbroker, 

 deserted both by her husband and 

 by her lover, commits suicide. 



Middelborg. Town of the Ne- 

 therlands. Capital of the prov. 

 of Zeeland, it stands nearly in the 

 centre of the island of Walcheren, 

 4 m. by rly. N.N.E. of Flushing. 

 The industries include engineering, 



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