Microscopy: Numbers, Letters, and Fabric

I tried putting anything and everything under the microscope — results were fantastic.

There is more to this world than we can ever discover. Every nook, every corner, every surface, every grain of sand has enough complexity and character to astound, and there are so many corners, nooks, and grains of sand.

Yesterday, I had a frenzy of finding random samples and shoving them under the microscope. Here are the results. Might I say that they’re grand?

Numbers Engraved on a Metal Tool

A metal tool with the tiny code “007” engraved on the surface.

1*AKR7erosVZPRti91 DGVoQ — Look at the symmetry and the asymmetry. The ridges, the rough edges, the shiny scratches. Look at how the peaks are more pronounced at the bottom and worn down near the top.

1*iFHmuC96plcy N1BN8mtig — Seven. Could be used as a logo. Look at the small bit missing from the top, the background, the double outline. The numbers look so pronounced, yet you would barely feel it if you ran your fingers over them.

Words From an Old Bangla Newspaper

1*ZFkhwfqf4 5q6cpRJpKBBg — “Ma” — the Bangla for “Mother”. The best word.

1*J3NIdUsxaWbJRxmns NOfg — “Shob” — Bangla for “All”. It’s actually a section from a bigger word that would’ve meant “to serve” if it had fit on the screen. Does that say anything?

1*fWT04rH7xulIUruFmd77HQ — “Hotash” — the Bangla for “hopeless”, “disappointed”, or “dejected”, though the final letter couldn’t fit in the frame. Look at the texture, the ink, the newspaper background, the million scratches, the stains, and how time has worn them all out. You see a lot of white between the ink, but in macro, the text is unbroken and solid.

A Soft Fabric

Microscopic images of a small cloth used for cleaning sunglasses.

1*A1o3lophMLVoMlaLuAMM0A — Look at the hidden intricacy. Notice the tiny fibers poking out. Those are all what cloth is. Tiny strings of fibers wound and wound and wound and wound into a hundred different knots and bundles, all intertwining into the smooth scraps you can hold and wear.

1*q1UKP6DzhGE1XFoWctO7gA — Same image, taken with the lights off. It’s a wonder how much lighting affects the mood of an image.

Guess What This Is

These two are special. I put this particular sample under the scope without much expectation and was pleasantly surprised at the results. I’ll leave you to guess what these are, but I will leave you a hint. You’re looking at these little, slanted rectangles both inside the image and outside.

If anyone guesses correctly, I will, uh, draw a tree small enough to fit into and be captured by the microscope lenses.

All images were viewed with an optical light microscope at 40x total magnification. Images taken with a midrange phone camera, cropped, and adjusted. Focus stacking was done with Helicon Focus. All images were focus stacked, though some could’ve done without it.

For more wonderful images, feel free to browse my Medium Profile.

I tried putting anything and everything under the microscope — results were fantastic.

Numbers Engraved on a Metal Tool

Words From an Old Bangla Newspaper

A Soft Fabric

Guess What This Is

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