phase-contrast microscope

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

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