The Enlightenment – how the 18th century changed science
Sapere aude, dare to know A few weeks ago, I gave a talk on microscopes in the 18th century […]
The oldest lens in the world (or is it?)
Tucked away safely in the archive of the British Museum is a nondescript piece of rock crystal. It’s oval in […]
The day I met Darwin & accidentally made a scene.
There are few things that can make a biologist swoon, but Darwin is one of them. I’ve never met a […]
Micrographia
One of the greatest and earliest contributions to the world of microscopy was the 17th century book Micrographia by […]
The secret of Leeuwenhoeks lenses
This is a great article on work done by the TU Delft Reactor Institute, investigating how Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made […]
Connecting the pale blue dots
As the Voyager 1 space probe was leaving our solar system, Carl Sagan asked that it be turned around to […]
The gentleman botanist
**A special thank you to Eimear and Ger for their help and for allowing me access to the microscope** Last […]
Endless forms most beautiful
If you don’t have time to make it to a museum today, take a stroll around the website of Dr. […]
Back to the beginning – camera obscura
What do Leonardo da Vinci and Edinburgh have in common? The answer is the camera obscura. The camera obscura (also […]
Ireland’s Great Telescope
Today I’m taking a small divergence from microscopy to that of astronomy. The telescope is a close cousin of the […]