The final design resembles a simple LEGO tower, but it hides some clever features (see figure). Now, the trio has described the microscope in a paper published in The Biophysicist (with Betz’s son co-author, naturally). However, even with assistance from Betz’s colleague Bart Vos, it took over a year to fine-tune the design, write construction plans and validate the instrument’s usefulness.
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“But my son came up with a series of great ideas on how to overcome the difficulties that I explained to him he even figured out a way to use a LEGO light source to illuminate the samples.” Junior authorīy the end of the weekend, the father-son duo had built a prototype. “My first reaction was that this is too hard, because of the precise movements and all the parts that are non-LEGO,” recalls Betz. The idea for a LEGO microscope came to biophysicist Timo Betz (from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster) and his 10 year-old son one weekend while playing with LEGO – modular plastic building blocks that are beloved by children (and many adults) worldwide. Designed by researchers, teachers and schoolchildren in Germany, the instrument is easy to build, yet it can resolve micrometre-sized objects such as individual living cells. (Courtesy: Timo Betz)Ī fully functional modular microscope has been built using LEGO bricks and low-cost smartphone lenses. The black eyepiece is at the top, and also visible is the black wheel that is used to adjust the position of the objective lens. Simple design: the LEGO microscope (left) and a technical drawing of the instrument. Webinars Tune into online presentations that allow expert speakers to explain novel tools and applications.Video Watch our specially filmed videos to get a different slant on the latest science.Podcasts Our regular conversations with inspiring figures from the scientific community.
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