phase-contrast microscope

British  

noun

1. a microscope that makes visible details of colourless transparent objects. It employs a method of illumination such that small differences of refractive index of the materials in the object cause differences of luminous intensity by interference

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Example Sentences

Now, in Nature, Dr. Landrum B. Shettles, of Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, reports on what may be a simple way to differentiate X from Y. In his laboratory Shettles spread sperm cells thinly on a glass slide, allowed them to dry, and examined them with a phase-contrast microscope�a type that makes tiny objects look like bright halos of light against a dark background, showing up details that ordinary microscopes miss.

From Time Magazine Archive