Carl Zeiss Microscopes help to conserve Britain's most fragile treasure

Britain's oldest and largest specialist stained glass conservation studio has recently embarked upon the conservation of York Minster's Great East Window with help from Carl Zeiss microscopes. The York Glaziers Trust chose a pair of Stemi DV4 Spot microscopes to investigate surface corrosion on Britain's largest expanse of medieval stained glass and the Zeiss AxioCam to record the phenomena for future reference.

According to Sarah Brown, Director of York Glaziers Trust and Course Director of the University of York's MA in Stained Glass Conservation, "The pre-conservation examination and documentation of every panel requires a microscope with a long reach and two newly acquired Stemi DV4 Spot microscopes are now an essential part of the conservators' toolkit in our workshop. The exceptional optics and the superb build quality of these microscopes are ideal for the task. The Stemi DV4 Spot is a delight to use, allowing precision adjustments to be made over the large but fragile panels with the minimum of effort."

Following preliminary photography and documentation, each panel is dismantled to allow the surfaces of the individual glass pieces to be cleaned and restored. Monitoring by microscope is essential to ensure that neither the delicate protective gel layer of the base glass nor the potentially vulnerable paint layers are damaged by the cleaning process. Complete dismantling also allows edge-bonding of original glass pieces to restore damaged pieces prior to re-glazing.

"The Stemi DV4 has also proved invaluable in the investigation of corroded glass surfaces and we are only just beginning to appreciate their full potential," says Sarah. "The laminate glasses, especially the 'flashed' reds used in the window, are especially vulnerable to corrosion and the microscopes are enabling the Trust to record both distinctive and characteristic corrosion phenomena for future reference. The few examples of deliberately abraded ruby glass discovered so far have been of particular interest."

Pictured: Anna Milsom, a conservator at York Glaziers, working on a York Minster stained glass window using one of the new Carl Zeiss microscopes.

The Minster's Great East Window was commissioned in 1405 from the Coventry glazier, John Thornton, and upon completion in 1408, depicted the beginning and the end of all things. Under a figure of God holding a book with the words 'Ego sum alpha et omega' (I am the beginning and the end), the main lights tell the story of Creation and the events of the Apocalypse. With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the complete restoration of the window and its return with state-of-the-art environmental protection will be completed in 2016. The project will ensure its preservation in close to museum conditions for many generations to come and was the subject of BBC4's recent documentary, 'Britain's Most Fragile Treasure'.

With a 4:1 zoom range and a 92mm working distance, the Stemi DV4's best-in-class, parfocal zoom optics enable distortion-free imaging over the whole of the large object field. Digital and video cameras may be rapidly connected for image capture and recording and the system is also fully-compatible with Zeiss AxioVision imaging and archival software. Other options available for the Zeiss Stemi DV4 Stereomicroscope include transmitted-light darkfield equipment, eyepiece measuring devices, and attachment systems that enable enhanced resolution magnification up to 64x. For further information, e-mail: customercare@zeiss.co.uk  Refer to page 258

New Thermo Fisher Scientific industrial gas system:
Performance, speed and sensitivity for multi-component gas analysis

Thermo Fisher Scientific's added enhancements to its Antaris Industrial Gas System (IGS)  has improved its performance, speed, ease-of-use and sensitivity. The Antaris IGS offers faster scan speeds (to 5 Hz at 0.5 cm^-1 resolution) and enhanced electronic and communication capabilities to support more rapid scanning. Based on Thermo Fisher Scientific's renowned Nicolet 6700 Fourier transform interferometer, the Antaris IGS is an FTIR-based analyzer capable of monitoring dozens of gases simultaneously while providing accurate and fast multi-component gas analysis. It is a highly configurable gas analyzer that is used in a wide scope of industrial analyses, particularly in emerging green energy applications such as landfill methane gas analysis. The Antaris IGS is also ideal for the ever-changing needs of the automotive, chemical and environmental industries.

Landfills provide ideal conditions for methanogenesis, with landfill gas comprised of approximately 40-60 percent methane. Today, significant amounts of waste are slowly decaying under the ground in landfill sites, and methane is produced for years after sites are closed. As this methane escapes, either directly into the atmosphere or by diffusion through the cover soil, it greatly contributes to global warming. To mitigate this issue, many landfills deploy gas collection systems that not only prevent escape, but also capture high-quality, contaminant-free gas for use in power generation. The new Antaris IGS is a key part of this process, providing fast, sensitive and reliable monitoring of landfill methane gas so it can be reused as a source of green energy.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has added enhancements to its Antaris Industrial Gas System (IGS)  that improve performance, speed, ease-of-use and sensitivity.

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers pre-calibrated gas analysis methods for the Antaris IGS, allowing  users to quickly deploy it without extensive setup and calibration delays. Operated using the Thermo Scientific RESULT software, the Antaris IGS includes easy-to-use tools for routine analysis, method development, method transfer, operation setup and data analysis.

The Antaris IGS is highly configurable, offering a choice of detectors, gas cells and other components that enable users to tailor the system to fit the needs of a range of challenging gas analysis applications. The analyzer is available in both industrial rack-mount and table-top configurations, and it can be used as a standalone unit or be incorporated into a larger gas analysis system. 

Brian Davies, vice president and general manager of molecular spectroscopy and microanalysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, comments: "At Thermo Fisher Scientific, we always value our customers' feedback and use it as a basis for creating the next scientific innovations. Developed with input from industry market leaders, the new Thermo Scientific Antaris IGS offers a solution to specific and demanding gas analysis needs. This multi-component gas analyzer combines fast scan speeds for gas analysis in an industrial design for rapid and repeatable results. It is cost-effective, easy-to-use and dependable."

For further information, e-mail: marketing.informatics@thermofisher.com or view website: www.thermoscientific.com/informatics  Refer to next page   

Dolomite's new Piezoelectric Pumps
for accurate liquid handling in microfluidic systems

Dolomite's, range of Piezoelectric Pumps provide a flexible solution for handling small volumes of fluid within microfluidic systems.

Extremely small in size, the lightweight Piezoelectric Pumps are ideal for easy integration into experimental set-ups and can be used in portable microfluidic devices. Their unique technology uses the piezoelectric effect which converts electrical energy into mechanical energy for the actuation of a diaphragm, resulting in fluid movement through the diaphragm chamber. By varying the applied voltage and frequency, the flow rate can be adjusted from 3ml/min to a maximum of 20ml/min enabling experimental parameters to be optimised.

The pump features two fluid ports which can be connected to soft tubing with an internal diameter of 0.8mm, 1.6mm or 2.4mm. Providing a flexible low power pump solution which fits into tight spaces, the Piezoelectric Pumps enhance instrument development and benefit a wide range of industries including consumer electronics, medical instruments, fuel cells and microfluidic experimentations.

Dolomite also provides a compact Piezoelectric Pump Controller for the flexible control of up to two pumps for applications such as point of care diagnostics where a sample and reagent are mixed together in a microfluidic system. The Controller features a memory function to store the latest setting used enabling users to quickly setup the micropumps within their fluidic systems.

For further information, view website: www.dolomite-microfluidics.com  Refer to page 241