From the Editor Eliminate Optical Microscopy


T is special issue of Microscopy Today is devoted to light microscopy. Light microscopy is


microscopy that employs light as a medium, or so I thought. Every week I see “optical microscopy” used as a synonym for light microscopy. I cannot understand the popularity of this confusing term. For people outside our fi eld, the term “optical microscopy” must be perplexing: does it mean electron optical or light optical? My point is that we should present the techniques we use in clear unambiguous language: light microscopy, electron microscopy, scanned probe microscopy, etc. Regardless of logic, there are still strong adherents to the term “optical microscopy.” Many reasons are given for the use of the term “optical microscopy.” Certainly “optical”


makes one think of techniques other than scanned probe microscopies. Some people relate their use of “optical microscopy” to the connection with glass lenses or to the dictionary defi nition for “optical”: using the properties of light to aid vision. Others say that “optical” was directly related to photons before electron microcopy was invented and thus has priority. Proponents of replacing “optical microscopy” with “light microscopy” note that physicists


sometimes call the synchrotron a light source because it generates photons over a range of wavelengths. Others state that lenses and optical equations are also used to focus electrons and ions. Of course, when describing lenses for electrons, an additional modifi er is used: “electron optics.” It is easy to see why some people avoid these fi ne distinctions and use “light optical microscopy” or LOM. T e tendency to use one term or the other may be industry- or discipline-related.


Microscopists who only use light microscopy and never deal with images or maps produced by other means may have a tendency to call the technique “optical microscopy.” However, most research in the life sciences and physical sciences requires a wide range of complementary microscopy techniques. T e photonics industry oſt en, and perhaps justifi ably, skips the adjective altogether and calls all work with a microscope “microscopy.” Another confusing term is “digital microscopy” that also tends to mean light microscopy, even though all microscopies now use digital technology. One of the goals of this magazine is to make all types of microscopy and microanalysis


accessible to every microscopist. To do this requires that logical terms be used to identify microscopy techniques. Another goal is to present microscopy methods to non-microscopists outside our community in a way that makes our fi eld understandable. T us, I vote for promoting the term “light microscopy” to refer to all magnifi ed images made with visible, IR, or UV light.


Charles Lyman Editor-in-Chief


Editorial Staff


Charles E. Lyman Editor-in-Chief charles.lyman@lehigh.edu (610) 758-4249


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Publication Objective: to provide information of interest to microscopists.


Microscopy Today is a controlled-circulation trade magazine owned by the Microscopy Society of America that is published six times a year in the odd months. Editorial coverage spans all microscopy techniques including light microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, electron microscopy, ion-beam techniques, and the wide range of microanalytical methods. Readers and authors come from both the life sciences and the physical sciences. The typical length of an article is about 2,000 words plus fi gures and tables; feature articles are longer. Interested authors should consult “Instructions for Contributors” on the Microscopy Today website: www.microscopy-today.com.


ISSN 1551-9295


Disclaimer The Microscopy Society of America and the editors cannot be held responsible for opinions, errors, or for any consequences arising from the use of information contained in Microscopy Today. The appearance of advertising in Microscopy Today does not constitute an endorsement or approval by the Microscopy Society of America of any claims or information found in the advertisements. By submitting a manuscript to Microscopy Today, the author warrants that the article is original or that the author has written permission to use copyrighted material published elsewhere. While the contents of this magazine are believed to be accurate at press time, neither the Microscopy Society of America, the editors, nor the authors can accept legal responsibility for errors or omissions.


© Copyright 2011 by the Microscopy Society of America. All rights reserved.


Circulation: 16,400 Editorial Board


Arlan Benscoter, Lehigh University John Bozzola, Southern Illinois University Peter Crozier, Arizona State University Vinayak Dravid, Northwestern University Joseph Goldstein, University of Massachusetts Bryan Huey, University of Connecticut Thomas Kelly, Imago Corporation John Mackenzie, North Carolina State Univ. Paul Maddox, University of Montreal Ania Majewska, U. Rochester Med School Greg Meeker, U.S. Geological Survey Joseph Michael, Sandia National Labs Caroline Miller, Indiana University Robert Price, University of South Carolina John Reffner, John Jay College, SUNY Ian Robertson, University of Illinois Phillip Russell, Appalachian State University Glenn Shipley, Citizen Microscopist Robert Simmons, Georgia State University Paul Voyles, University of Wisconsin Simon Watkins, University of Pittsburgh Cynthia Zeissler, Nat. Inst. of Sci. and Tech. (NIST)


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