Figure 3

Imaging comparison between traditional microscopy and optimized optics. Traditional microscopy (left) does not have the illumination and setup optimized in respect of the optical activity of particles, compared to our method (right), which focuses on optimized background environment, and an innovative microscope objective combined with a specific illumination that permit the particle to self-distribute the light rays internally for better surface observation, rather than acting as a prism with uniform reflections. (a) A semi-transparent soda-lime glass sphere (700 µm). (b) An acetylsalicylic acid crystal (560 µm). (c) Different copper sulfate crystals (850 µm (left) and 950 µm (right)). Images of a, right, and c, right, were built based on focus-stacking. The other images are single snapshots. Images (to the right) were taken using the setup in Fig. 1, middle, with white backlight.