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ABBE APERTOMETER

MAKER: ZEISS

c. 1920s

INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTION HISTORY USAGE

Please Click On Any Picture for a Larger Version


INTRODUCTION:
abbeabbeAn apertometer is used to measure numerical aperture, abbreviated NA or n.a.   NA is the modern term which reflects the resolving power of an objective lens. In other words, the NA of a microscope objective is a measure of its ability to gather light and resolve fine specimen detail at a fixed object distance. The image to the left shows a similar Abbe Apertometer in use. A special low power objective(not visible in this image) is in place at the bottom of the drawtube, which sits inside the main optical tube. In use in the traditional configuration, as shown in the image to the left, light is directed into the rounded side of the device. The light is directed through the 'opal glass' of the cursor, into the glass slab, and is reflected up through the cover slip and then through the objective. The 45 degree angle of the back of the glass directs the light upwards. The circle of opal glass on the side of the cursor has an 'X' in its center which lines up with the line on top of the cursor, registering on the scale. The special accessory objective at the end of the drawtube turns the drawtube itself into a microscope to view the back focal plane of the objective being studied. As the cursor is moved from right to left and left to right, the 'X' in the opal glass can be seen. When the X reaches the edge of the field on each side, the NA can be read directly off the glass slab. The two readings are averaged to give the correct mean value. Most monocular microscopes of the 19th and early 20th century, regardless of maker, had a thread at the end of the drawtube, usually a society thread. If the drawtube was not equipped with a society thread, it would need to be adapted to accept the special objective. Today it is faster and simpler to use a Bertrand lens or a Phase telescope instead of an objective on a drawtube. The author would like to thank James Solliday for supplying the image of the apertometer on a Zeiss microscope.


DESCRIPTION:
casecaseabbe obj This apertometer comes in a fitted black leather-covered case(fig 1), with gold lettering labeled APERTOMETER, NACH ABBE.  The outside dimensions of the case are about 160 x 79 x 52 mm. The top is slightly rounded. It is lined with dark blue velvet. Inside(fig 2) is the instrument and the special objective in its can. The can(fig 3) is black and labeled CARL ZEISS,JENA in the insignia on the top of the can. The black objective(fig 3) is labeled with the same insignia and also Apertometer, System, 690.   The objective has a diaphragm on its distal end.



abbe apertometer sideviewglass off The apertometer itself consists of a semicircular glass slab of known refractive index, in this case, 1.62549, engraved on the glass. The flat top and bottom of the slab both have a frosted finish. It measures about 79 x 45 x 12.4 mm. The glass slab has on its flat top surface(fig 4) two sets of graduations, and near the flat edge at its midpoint, a small cover slip over a circular silver disk with a slit down its center(inset,fig 4). When viewed through the microscope, the edge of the slit on one hemicircle is quite straight and preserved, but on the other side it is ragged and some tiny parts of the hemicircular piece of silver on that side are scattered about. This in no way affects the use or performance of this instrument however. The flat side of the semicircular slab opposite its curved edge is angled at 45 degrees(fig 5). This serves to reflect the light entering horizontally from the curved side upward through the slit in the silver disk. The bottom of the glass slab rests upon a metal support(fig 6). The metal support measures about 114 x 65 mm in maximal dimensions. The support is painted white in the area in which the glass slab sits. The glass slab registers against a lip on the front of the metal support, held up against it by two rods which rotate through an offset axis to allow fine adjustment of the tension and rotation of the glass slab on the metal support.



abbe apertometer bottomsideviewA radial arm is attached to the underside of the metal support(fig 7), and has its axis of rotation under the silver disk on top of the glass slab. Attached to this arm is a cursor(fig 8), which rides along the outer round surface of the glass slab. The cursor has a window on the surface facing the rounded edge of the glass part of the Apertometer which has a small circle of translucent 'opal glass' which has an 'X' in its center. A long index line on the top of the cursor enables the position of the cross to be read off of the two scales on top of the slab. The graduations closest to the curved surface are the scale for NA, while those closer to the silver disc indicate the simple angle so obtained. The cursor has a small knurled handle.


USING THE ABBE APERTOMETER
light pathlight path The light path when using the apertometer is shown in the images. Light is directed horizontally towards the curved side, and is reflected by the 45 degree angle at the back of the glass upwards through the silver disc opening. The light source may need to be repositioned as the cursor is moved. Using the Abbe apertometer to determine NA is usually reasonably accurate, provided instructions for its use are carefully followed. The instructions by Zeiss leave out a few helpful details on improving accuracy mentioned by Spitta and in greater detail by Hartridge. Hartridge goes further to make several suggestions for improving accuracy employing a reversed light path, that is with the light directed down the optical tube and the NA determined by the pattern of light falling on the apertometer. In addition, several other caveats about Hartridge's method make his method quite tedious. That degree of accuracy, though it may be improved with his method, is not neccesary for ordinary work, as the errors occurring when the device is employed when the device is used as originally intended, are too small to be detected by the human eye. That is, the human eye cannot differentiate a change in resolution with small changes in NA. A satisfactory result can be obtained by combining the instructions by Zeiss and the precautions mentioned by Spitta.

When I tested some modern objectives, the results were as follows:
In use, testing just three objectives, I found the following: a 10X S-Plan olympus objective labeled as NA of 0.30, measured an NA of 0.35. A generic 100X objective, labeled as NA of 1.3 had a measured NA using the Abbe apertometer of 1.23. Finally an apochromatic Olympus S-plan objective labeled as NA of 1.35 measured 1.30.

Outline of use:

  1. Place the instrument on the stage
  2. Center the little coverslip under the objective
  3. With a bright light source aimed a the Apertometer's round side, more precisely center the line between the two hemicircles of silver under the coverslip and focus on the edge of these silver hemicircles, using the usual method(left)
  4. Taking care not to disturb the focus, attach the special objective to the inside distal end of the drawtube and slide it in or out to focus on the cross of the cursor. Alternatively, use a phase telescope or Bertrand lens to do the same. This will obviate the need for using the auxilliary objective (right).
  5. Move the cursor to one side and note the reading where the center of the X reaches the edge of the field; do the same in the other direction
  6. The NA is the average of the two readings
  7. Note that the above can be performed with the naked eye alone with the eyepiece removed for the lower power objectives. An auxilliary magnification system is not needed for low power objectives.
  8. Note that immersion oil must be used for oil immersion objectives.
  9. Note that with the older model with two indicators, one has to focus on the edge of the indicator as opposed to the cross in the cursor.



XXXX microscopeVIEW OF THE EDGE OF THE SLIT UNDER THE MICROSCOPE



XXXX microscopeVIEW OF THE X IN THE CURSOR AS VIEWED THROUGH A PHASE TELESCOPE OR BERTRAND LENS AS IT APPROACHES THE EDGE OF THE FIELD

One annoying problem I noticed in using this apertometer. The instrument tends to move when the cursor is being moved; a mechanical stage clip is not strong enough to prevent slipping. Pushing down on the apertometer to hold in place by hand will also lower the stage; to prevent this, a locking mechanism for the coarse focusing control is helpful. I note that in some examples, the Abbe apertometer came with pins to fit in the holes on the stage for the stage clips to prevent this annoyance. This would not be practical unless the pins were made for a specific single microscope, as most microscopes have the holes for the stage clips different distances apart and these holes are found in more than one diameter.


HISTORY OF THE ABBE APERTOMETER


HISTORY OF THE ABBE APERTOMETER

Although Smith, Beck, and Beck may have been the first to sell a tube apertometer in the 1860's, the Abbe Apertometer, first developed in 1871 by Abbe,was the first widely available commercial type to come into use. It was described in an article in the JRMS of 1877-8. The Abbe apertometer, was for many years, the most common form, though its design changed slightly. Although many other types of apertometer were developed, the Abbe is by far the most common form still extant today, and the later form is also the easiest to use and probably the most precise, particularly for high NA objectives. Among the other forms developed was the Cheshire Apertometer, and the Beck Apertometer.

Although the angle of aperture of ordinary objectives was sometimes measured before his time, Ernst Abbe, originator of the numerical aperture concept, made the first prototype instrument called an apertometer in 1871 and his first prototype from 1871 is part of the London Science Museum collection. That instrument was rectangular with a graduated brass plate on top. It had a prismatic piece of glass glued on to its long side. It is Bracegirdle's 39/38, inventory 1928-899 and found in section 'F' of his CD. According to Zeiss, Abbe first introduced the Numerical aperture term (NA) in 1873, and the first apertometers of the type shown here were designed by Abbe about 1876; Zeiss was apparently selling them shortly thereafter. As noted above, the first English JRMS article about this type of apertometer was not published until 1878.

Initially the glass of the apparatus(including the prototype) was made of crown glass, but by 1881, this was changed to flint glass which, having a higher refractive index, required a shorter distance between the cursors, which made it easier to use. In the JRMS of 1881, Mayall Jr. quoted the flint glass refractive index at 1.631. In reality, one modern source quotes the refractive indices for Crown glass to range from 1.52 to 1.62, and that of Flint glass to range from 1.57 to 1.75, but these overlapping values apparently do not apply to the 19th century. In fact, the glass in each Zeiss Abbe refractometer has a slightly different refractive index and each is actually engraved with the value for that particular piece of glass. This was neccesary to correctly space the calibration lines. A sampling of actual labeled values taken directly from Zeiss Abbe refractomers is: 1.53 (present example), 1.6214, 1.6233, 1.62507, and 1.62549. The illustration in the 1924 brochure and instructions for the Abbe apertometer shows an example with a refractive index of 1.62535. It would seem that most of the later examples have a refractive index over 1.62 and less than 1.63. Note below that the earliest commercial version, shown on this web page had a much lower refractive index than the others, and that it was engraved with the refractive index reported only to two decimals; this is a crown glass instrument from the very first few years of production and must date to between 1877 to 1881, since by 1881 the higher refractive index flint glass was being used for these instruments.

all abbe

The earliest commercial versions of the Abbe Apertometer had two moveable cursors and a silver disc with a small hole(figure 1); the cursors had no handles in the earliest version, but an upgraded version with a slotted base to guide the cursor was available at 1/3 higher price. The next version(figure 2) had little handles attached to each indicator, but was otherwise the same. The third version (figure 3), still had two cursors, but a slit in the disc rather than a small hole. Later, in the fourth and final form as shown in figure 4 a single cursor was provided. In the model with the two cursors, the edge of the indicator was used to determine the angle of aperture by sliding it along the curved side of the apertometer. When the indicator just barely came into view, this was the place where the reading was taken; the process was repeated on each side and the two values averaged. In the models with the single cursor, the cursor has an X on a piece of opal glass. I found the cursor type in Zeiss Catalogs starting in 1924. The double indicator type was still offered in the Zeiss catalog of 1913; therefore the change occurred sometime between 1913 and 1924. Spitta's book of 1920 still showed the double indicator type. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate any dated catalog or instruction manual containing an entry for the apertometer after 1913 and before 1924 to further narrow down the search. Since the 1920 edition of Spitta still showed the double indicator version, it is reasonable to conclude the new model with a single cursor was first produced in the 1920's. I would greatly appreciate information from anyone with catalog entries for the Abbe apertometer after 1913 and before 1924 to further narrow this down.

For many years two versions of the Abbe apertometer were offered. One simply supplied the glass and cursor(s). In those models, these parts were simply pushed along against the glass, not held in place by anything except ones fingers. The more deluxe models, had a metal base added for these parts to ride in a slot in the early models, or at the end of a spoke centered on the metal base, under the area of the coverslip in newer ones.

For the interest of the reader, Zeiss catalog entries of the Abbe apertometer are provided for 1889, 1913, and 1934. You can also see the illustration from the 2nd edition of the Zeiss instructions for the use of the Abbe apertometer.

For a discussion of the general history of the apertometer, and for other types of apertometer, please see the apertometer history page.

The author would likely to acknowledge the generous help of Dr. Joseph Zeligs and James Solliday with this web page.

REFERENCES

  1. Carl Zeiss (company) (1924): The Abbe Apertometer Leaflet Mikro 114 (2nd ed).
  2. Gunther, N (1951) Ernst Abbe: creator of the Zeiss Foundation. Transl. by David Bower (2016) Available directly from Mr. Bower at: david@dibower.co.uk
  3. Hartridge H (1918) An Improved Method of ApertometryJRMS pp337-348.
  4. Ingpen, John (1878) Description of Professor Abbe's Apertometer with Instructions for its use, By Carl Zeiss of Jena. JRMS Vol I pp18-22
  5. Mayall Jr, J (1881)JRMS Ser II, Vol I, Part 2 p978
  6. Spitta, Edmund J: (1920) Microscopy. The Construction, Theory and Use of the Microscope. 3rd ed. pp94-98.