The Find LabLab Report #3887: This ball head didn’t budge, even after Sarah slammed the lab door. Held the heavy monitor perfectly. Greg’s actually impressed—a rare win for €8.27 (was €18.37). Solid build for the price.
#LabLife #TechReview #CameraGear
Lab Report #7487: Fitted these kettle switch caps. Withstood 450 boils without warping. Derek tried to use one as a hat for the lab hamster; the hamster was unimpressed, but the kettle clicks fine. €11.0 (51% off). 🫖
QnanoOpticsInside the lab.
Exploring how light behaves at the nanoscale, one experiment at a time.
From microscopy to data analysis, this is where research happens.
QnanoOptics at UniOvi
#nanophotonics #quantumoptics #researchlife #lablife #nanoscience #physics #sciences
Sam LevineRun two reactions on related substrates in parallel. Ran the column for the first on Friday, everything looked good, so set-up step 2 over the weekend.
Ran the column on the second reaction this morning. No peaks. The TLC had spots! The reactions were the same scale! tears hair out
(at least it looked like step 2 on the first reaction worked, but that wasn't really in doubt since I've done it before, step 1 was a different protocol)
CarbelimCarbelim Lab focuses on sustainable innovation through biochar production, carbon solutions, and climate technology to support environmental sustainability.
#Carbelim #LabLife #Innovation #Sustainability #Biochar #ClimateTech
Lab Report #767: This stainless flywheel hit max RPM without rattling the bench. Sarah nearly dropped her coffee when she saw it’s down to €19.32 from €149.78. Perfectly balanced for the smart car project. #Engineering #LabLife #TechDeals
LeidenForceThousands apply, few are selected. This article highlights key missteps in PhD applications and interviews, and how to avoid them to increase your chances.
🔗
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04128-8
#GraduateSchool #PhDPreparation #AcademicSuccess #ScienceCareers #LabLife
PsychoticSheepAnother photo from my training that I found, this time not from organic chemistry but from inorganic chemistry! Working with the scanning electron microscope.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) uses a focused electron beam instead of light to image surfaces at the nanometer scale.
Three types:
SEM: The electron beam scans the surface while detectors capture topography and material contrast.
TEM: Electrons transmit through thin samples, revealing atomic scale details inside the material.
STEM: A combination of both, enabling imaging and chemical analysis at the atomic level.
Measurements include microstructure, phase composition, grain size, crack patterns, often combined with mechanical or magnetic properties.
The task was to create a compact table for five samples including microstructure (optical microscope + SEM), hardness, crack resistance parameter, magnetic saturation (Tm³/kg), and coercive field (kA/m), a pure data summary without comments.
#SEM #ScanningElectronMicroscope #MaterialsScience #InorganicChemistry #Microstructure #ElectronMicroscopy #LabLife #Research #TEM #STEM #MaterialCharacterization #HardnessTesting #MagneticProperties #ScienceTraining
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) uses a focused electron beam instead of light to image surfaces at the nanometer scale.
Three types:
SEM: The electron beam scans the surface while detectors capture topography and material contrast.
TEM: Electrons transmit through thin samples, revealing atomic scale details inside the material.
STEM: A combination of both, enabling imaging and chemical analysis at the atomic level.
Measurements include microstructure, phase composition, grain size, crack patterns, often combined with mechanical or magnetic properties.
The task was to create a compact table for five samples including microstructure (optical microscope + SEM), hardness, crack resistance parameter, magnetic saturation (Tm³/kg), and coercive field (kA/m), a pure data summary without comments.
#SEM #ScanningElectronMicroscope #MaterialsScience #InorganicChemistry #Microstructure #ElectronMicroscopy #LabLife #Research #TEM #STEM #MaterialCharacterization #HardnessTesting #MagneticProperties #ScienceTraining
Lab Report #6440: The 6-layer filter caught more sediment than our official gear. Mike rotatable-aimed it at the drain and didn't splash his lab coat once. Solid deal at €10.55 (down from €16.49). #LabLife #KitchenGadgets #TechReview
Another photo from my training, this time captured during the analysis of a polymer sample under the light microscope ✨🔬
The material is based on a polycondensation reaction of 4,4´-dihydroxybiphenyl with an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid chloride. Using an aqueous phase with sodium hydroxide and a phase transfer catalyst results in a polymer whose structure and properties strongly depend on the ordering of its molecular chains.
It becomes especially interesting when looking at the thermal and optical properties. In differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the material shows two endothermic transitions. This means that the ordered structure is not lost all at once, but stepwise via a liquid crystalline phase into a fully isotropic state.
Under the polarizing microscope, this order becomes directly visible. The sample exhibits birefringence, meaning direction-dependent refraction of light. This only occurs when regions within the material are organized on a scale comparable to the wavelength of light. These structures are exactly what create the fascinating patterns and colors in the image.
In short, a small window into the world of liquid crystals, somewhere between ordered structure and thermally driven disorder.
I love these moments when chemistry is not only measurable, but also visible.
#chemistry #polymer #polymerchemistry #liquidcrystals #microscopy #polarizedlight #birefringence #materials #materialscience #lablife #science #research #stem #scicomm
The material is based on a polycondensation reaction of 4,4´-dihydroxybiphenyl with an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid chloride. Using an aqueous phase with sodium hydroxide and a phase transfer catalyst results in a polymer whose structure and properties strongly depend on the ordering of its molecular chains.
It becomes especially interesting when looking at the thermal and optical properties. In differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the material shows two endothermic transitions. This means that the ordered structure is not lost all at once, but stepwise via a liquid crystalline phase into a fully isotropic state.
Under the polarizing microscope, this order becomes directly visible. The sample exhibits birefringence, meaning direction-dependent refraction of light. This only occurs when regions within the material are organized on a scale comparable to the wavelength of light. These structures are exactly what create the fascinating patterns and colors in the image.
In short, a small window into the world of liquid crystals, somewhere between ordered structure and thermally driven disorder.
I love these moments when chemistry is not only measurable, but also visible.
#chemistry #polymer #polymerchemistry #liquidcrystals #microscopy #polarizedlight #birefringence #materials #materialscience #lablife #science #research #stem #scicomm
