Abstract
THE year 1940 marked the centenary of the manufacture in Great Britain of specially thin glass for microscope cover-slips. Prior to this date, it was customary for microscopists to use thin talc or mica for covering specimens—to be examined under the microscope. This manufacture was started by Messrs. Chance Brothers and Co., Ltd., at Smethwick, in 1840 as nearly as is known, and has been carried on continuously by the same firm up to the present day. The War has called for a considerable increase in supplies of such glass, both in Great Britain and abroad. There was no essential change in this type of glass until about 1928, when a research was carried out on the development of microscope cover-slips. It was found that the old type of glass, which was essentially like window glass, would not withstand tropical conditions without becoming clouded. Therefore, new methods of manufacturing a glass which-would withstand sterilizing and exposure to tropical atmospheres without any deterioration were introduced. The thickness of cover-slip glass is still classified under the headings: Extra thin (0.075-0.100 mm.), No. 1 (0.100-0.167 mm.), No. 2 (0.167-0.215 mm.), and No. 3 (0.215-0.300 mm.). These correspond closely with the figures quoted in a catalogue issued by the firm in March 1859, which says No. 1 is 1/250 in. in thickness, No. 2 1/160 in., and No. 3 about 1/100 in.
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Thin Glass for Microscope Cover-Slips. Nature 147, 803–804 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/147803d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/147803d0