Cinematographic annual : 1930 (1930)

MICRO-CINEMATOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Heinz Rosenberger* MANY an amateur who owns a 1 6 mm. motion picture camera would like to extend its possibilities in photographing objects which others have not as yet taken. For those who can afford to travel this is not difficult, and it gives one a great deal of satisfaction to bring home and demonstrate to friends scenes of strange people, beautiful scenery and many wonders of nature. But it is not at all necessary to venture out and travel in order to take scenes of interest and beauty. There is an immense field almost unexplored by amateurs and scientists as well, that is, the world behind the microscope. Those who have never looked into one have certainly missed a really worth while experience. Every drop of stagnant water from a little pond or river is the center of many happenings. Thousands of tiny creatures, the largest smaller than a needle head, perform their dances or eat smaller creatures. Their activity is exciting as one can follow them and observe what they will do now and later. But what is most fascinating is the fact that they are all clear as if made from glass. One can see right through and observe the little organs inside better than with an X-ray machine. In some of them a little heart may be seen beating rapidly or a little stomach, always active, digesting food which very frequently is composed of still smaller animals. Others have a little stirring apparatus resembling the wheels of a watch (for instance rotifiers) which seem to rotate rapidly in order to bring the food closer to their mouth. One can observe the stream of life everywhere and even in plants by following the protoplasm circling in the cells. It is even possible to see the formation and growth of crystals, and by using polarized light one obtains colors of a combination and brilliancy never seen before, a good subject for color photography. It may be mentioned that microscopic motion pictures are used quite extensively in the scientific laboratories and universities. The advantages are quite obvious if one considers the time and work which would be necessary to demonstrate to an audience a phenomena which takes place under a microscope. It would be impossible to show it simultaneously to a number of people. But how easy it is to run a motion picture projector and at the same time explaining the phenomena appearing on the screen. But the micro film is not only used for demonstration; it is an aid to scientific research. The motion picture made it possible, through its domination of time, to lengthen or accelerate time. Time acceleration especially is very useful in microscopic investigations where certain objects, for instance growing and dividing cells, move so * Rockefeller Institutt for Medical Research. [545]