Alexandra Klipfel

In this image, we can see a piece of algae. The green portion of the image is the algae, which are photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms that mostly dwell in water. Algae lack the multicellular reproductive structures of true plants, and also do not have true roots, stems or leaves.


 This sample was obtained with a dropper from the upper level of the Caltech turtle pond at 6:20 pm.


 Algae are in the kingdom Protista, and the domain Eukarya. They are eukaryotes because their cells contain membrane-bound nuclei.

Turtle Pond Algae

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="flower" class="wp-image-147384 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="147384" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone X","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1557256781","copyright":"","focal_length":"4","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.090909090909091","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="flower" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_147383/flower-1.jpg"/>
</figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="pollen" class="wp-image-147394 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="147394" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1557261191","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"160","shutter_speed":"0.25","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="pollen" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_147383/pollen-1.jpg"/>
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 The pollen I observed was a yellow-brown color. It was roughly spherical and about twice the size of poppy pollen. The pollen is textured and seems to have a delicate structure of small holes.


 The flower species is pelargonium domesticum. The sample was obtained at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 7th from plants in front of the Caltech Atheneum.


 The pollen was obtained by removing several stamens from a flower, shaking them into a small container and sealing the container. Then, the pollen was tapped out of the container onto a fold scope slide. A coverslip was placed over the slide and secured with tape.


 #caltechbi1

Pollen from the Caltech Atheneum

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="spinach" class="wp-image-151660 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151660" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558974918","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.25","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="spinach" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151655/spinach-1.jpg"/>
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 In this image we can see a leaf from a baby spinach plant. The dark green lines are outlines of veins in the leaf, and individual cells are visible. The green color comes from chlorophyll in the cells’ chloroplasts. A reason that it is difficult to make out crips outlines of the cells is that this particular leaf was wilted and therefore its cells have lost their turgor pressure since they are no longer full of water.


 This sample was obtained from a box of spinach in a refrigerator in Blacker house at 6:32 pm on Monday, May 27.


 I obtained this sample by choosing a wilted leaf which was thus more transparent than the others, tearing it in half, using water to adhere it to a glass slide, and then taping the two ends down. I then used a flashlight to provide the fold scope with a batter light source.

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="spinach box" class="wp-image-151657 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151657" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone X","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558982627","copyright":"","focal_length":"4","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="spinach box" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151655/spinach-box.jpg"/>
 <figcaption>
 This is where I obtained the spinach leaf.
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 #caltechbi1

Baby Spinach Leaf Cells

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="salt" class="wp-image-151668 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151668" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558976314","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="salt" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151667/salt.jpg"/>
</figure>

 In this picture we can see the cubic structure of NaCl salt crystals. The smooth faces are visible as light passes through them, and the dark outlines show a cubic structure due to the face-centered cubic lattice structure of the Na+ and Cl- ions in the salt.


 I gathered this sample from a container of iodized cooking salt in a kitchen in Blacker house. It was obtained at 6:25pm on Monday, May 27.


 I obtained this sample and made it visible in the foldscope by: creating a significantly oversaturated NaCl solution in water, scooping several drops of the solution onto a glass slide with a spoon, and taping a coverslip on top. A flashlight was used as an additional light source for the foldscope.

<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized">
 <img alt="saltpile" class="wp-image-151669 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151669" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone X","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558982574","copyright":"","focal_length":"4","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="saltpile" height="512" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151667/saltpile.jpg" width="384"/>
 <figcaption>
 The salt crystals were visible to the naked eye.
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized">
 <img alt="saltcan" class="wp-image-151670 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151670" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone X","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558982562","copyright":"","focal_length":"4","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.041666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="saltcan" height="512" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151667/saltcan.jpg" width="384"/>
 <figcaption>
 Location of the salt.
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 #caltechbi1

NaCl Crystals

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="skincells" class="wp-image-151676 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151676" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558976965","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.0065359477124183","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="skincells" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151675/skincells.jpg"/>
</figure>

 I obtained this sample by taking a piece of clear packing tape, sticking it firmly to my arm, and peeling off a layer of skin cells. The sample was obtained at 6:40 pm on Monday, May 27.


 I then cut a small square out of the packing tape with skin cells on it and stuck it on a glass slide. I used a flashlight as an extra light source with the foldscope.


 This image shows human skin cells, most of which are probably dead since they were the outermost layer on my arm. However, the individual shapes of the cells along with colored speckles representing organelles are visible in the image.

<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized">
 <img alt="arm" class="wp-image-151677 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151677" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone X","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558982513","copyright":"","focal_length":"4","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.16666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="arm" height="512" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151675/arm.jpg" width="384"/>
 <figcaption>
 I obtained the cells from my forearm.
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 #caltechbi1

Skin Cells From Human Arm

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="flower" class="wp-image-151682 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151682" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558977755","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.0021598272138229","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="flower" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151681/flower-.jpg"/>
</figure>

 This is an image of the edge of a petal from a Jacaranda tree flower. These are thin, tubular purple flowers that are about two inches long. The image shows many round, dark cells–most likely deriving their color from the pigments which make the flower purple. Interestingly, these cells are quite round as opposed to the usual rectangular shape of plant cells.


 This sample was obtained from a fallen flower in the grass under a Jacaranda tree in front of Blacker house. It was found and prepared at 6:00pm on Monday, May 27.


 The sample was prepared by cutting the flower in half with scissors, cutting out a square from the petal, and adhering the petal to a slide with a drop of water. I then taped down the edges and used a flashlight to see the cells better through the foldscope.

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="IMG_5109" class="wp-image-151683 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151683" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558984189","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_5109" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151681/IMG_5109.jpeg"/>
 <figcaption>
 Fallen purple flowers outside of Blacker house
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="IMG_5110" class="wp-image-151684 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151684" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558984192","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.00163132137031","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_5110" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151681/IMG_5110.jpeg"/>
 <figcaption>
 The Jacaranda Tree
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 #caltechbi1

Flower Petal from Jacaranda Tree

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="fly" class="wp-image-151689 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151689" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558978141","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.0021929824561404","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="fly" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151688/fly.jpg"/>
 <figcaption>
 (My friend killed the gnat by accident so we didn’t mean to kill it for this project, but we decided to look at it because we were curious)
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 This sample was obtained outside in the grass next to the Caltech Atheneum at 5:30pm on Monday, May 27. The gnat was killed (not intentionally for this), and then placed on a slide with a coverslip taped on top. A flashlight was used as an external light source to better see the sample.


 This image shows three legs belonging to a small gnat. The dark mass at the top is its body. The different segments of the legs are visible. Additionally, the dark spots in the image are most likely dust or small cells from the gnat.

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="IMG_5109" class="wp-image-151691 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="151691" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 7","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1558984189","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_5109" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_151688/IMG_5109-1.jpeg"/>
 <figcaption>
 Grass outside the Caltech Atheneum where the gnat was collected
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 #caltechbi1

Alexandra Klipfel

Earth

Posts

NaCl Crystals

Skin Cells From Human Arm

Flower Petal from Jacaranda Tree

Legs of a Small Gnat

Turtle Pond Algae

Pollen from the Caltech Atheneum

Baby Spinach Leaf Cells

NaCl Crystals

Skin Cells From Human Arm

Flower Petal from Jacaranda Tree

Legs of a Small Gnat

Turtle Pond Algae

Pollen from the Caltech Atheneum

Baby Spinach Leaf Cells

NaCl Crystals

Skin Cells From Human Arm

Flower Petal from Jacaranda Tree

Legs of a Small Gnat

Locations

Statistics

Type of Sample

Foldscope Lens Magnification