Microtubules are filamentous structures in cells that maintain cell shape and facilitate the movement of molecules within the cell. They are long, hollow cylinders with a diameter of about 25 nm. It is possible to incorporate fluorescent molecules into microtubules; when illuminated by an ultraviolet light, the fluorescent molecules emit visible light that can be imaged by the optical system of a microscope.

Required:
If the emitted light has a wavelength of 550nm and the NA of the microscope objective is 1.3, what is the smallest resolvable separation between two objects in the microscope?

Question

Answered

Answer :

Nuhulawal20go Nuhulawal20go · Answer 1

Answer:

the smallest resolvable separation between two objects in the microscope is 2.58 × 10⁻⁷ m

Explanation:

Given the data in the question;

the smallest resolvable separation distance between two objects in the microscope can be determined using the following quation;

[tex]d_{min}[/tex] = Dλ/NA = (0.61)λ /NA

where λ is the wavelength of emitted light = 550nm = 5.5 × 10⁻⁷ m

NA = microscope objective = 1.3

so we substitute

[tex]d_{min}[/tex] = (0.61)5.5 × 10⁻⁷ m) / 1.3

[tex]d_{min}[/tex] = 0.0000003355 / 1.3

[tex]d_{min}[/tex] = 2.58 × 10⁻⁷ m

Therefore, the smallest resolvable separation between two objects in the microscope is 2.58 × 10⁻⁷ m