dark field illumination
- noun
- Specialized
:
iluminación de campo oscuro
- Using dark field illumination, the bacteria were clearly visible as glowing shapes against the black background.
Examples
-
In dark field illumination, the background remains dark while the specimen appears bright.
-
When viewed with dark field illumination, tiny particles in the sample could be easily detected.
-
The laboratory technician switched to dark field illumination to enhance the visibility of the living cells.
-
The dark field illumination technique enhances the visibility of the specimen.
-
The laboratory technician switched to dark field illumination to enhance the visibility of the living cells.
-
Using dark field illumination, the bacteria were clearly visible as glowing shapes against the black background.
-
In dark field illumination, the background remains dark while the specimen appears bright.
Synonyms
1
6.8
A microscope that makes tiny particles too small for an ordinary microscope appear bright on a dark background
A way to see tiny things under a microscope as bright shapes on a dark background
Surface Forms
Morphology
dark + field + illumination
The term is a literal, compositional description: 'dark' + 'field' (here = optical field of view) + 'illumination' yields illumination of a dark field that makes specimens appear bright. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a learner who knows the constituent meanings (including the optical sense of 'field') can infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
Dark field illumination comes from how the microscope uses light: the area you look at, the field, stays dark, while the tiny things in it are lit by special illumination so they stand out. That's why the term means specimens appear 'bright against a dark background'.