Magnify - vt - verb transitive ...
to cause something to appear larger than is in fact the case,
especially by using a lens, like a Telescope, or Microscope.
Micro - prefix - very small, minute.
Macro - prefix - very large, inclusive.
During the First Century AD (year 100) Glass had been invented,
The Romans were looking through the glass and testing it.
One of these samples was thick in the middle ...
And thin on the edges.
Someone soon discovered that the Sun's rays could be focused
Through the glass, and start a Fire!
These early lenses were called Magnifiers, or "Burning Glasses.'
The word 'lens' is from the Latin 'lentil' as
The shape resembled a lentil bean!
Sometime around 1590, two Dutch spectacle-makers,
Zaccharias Jannsen and his father Hans were experimenting,
They invented the 'Compound Microscope,
Using two or more lenses.
Galileo Galilei was attributed with the invention of the Telescope in 1610.
However, a Flemish spectacle-maker named Hans Lipperhey
Had already applied for a Patent in 1608, but it was Refused!
Perhaps he should have called his invention a "Macro-Scope"?
Galileo Improved both the Microscope and Telescope.
Anthony Leeuwenhoek of Holland (1632-1723) started
Grinding and Polishing his own lenses and ...
Was able to produce greater Magnification ... up to 270X
He has since been called the "Father of Microscopy."
Today, there are no Microscope Manufacturers in the US,
Most come from: Germany, Japan, and China.
Way back when Old Geezers like me were mere Children ...
Biology was the Science or Study of Plants and Animals.
Somewhere along the line since then,
A totally separate and distinct study emerged ...
MICRO-BIOLOGY ...
The Study of MICROBES!
Microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that ...
Millions can fit into the eye of a Needle!
They are the Oldest Form of Life on Earth!
Microbe Fossils Date Back More Than 3.5 Billion Years.
Hundreds of Millions of Years Before Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth!
We Couldn't Eat or Breathe Without Them!
Without Us ... They'd Be Just Fine!
There are More of Them on One Person's Hand ...
Than ALL the People on Earth!
NO WAY OUR MATH COULD COUNT THEM!
QUADRO-CINCO-SEPTO-KA-ZILLIONS ???
Microbes Are:
Inside Us!
In the Air We Breathe!
On the Food We Eat!
On the Ground We Walk On!
On Our Furniture!
On Our Pets!
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE !!!
We seem to be caught in the middle of an infinitely outward expansion and an infinitely downward regression of life forms. The big stuff kills and so does the small stuff. Laughter seems to be a good survival mechanism. Interesting and fun read.
Fascinating, Tom. Unless I've misunderstood my own reading on this subject, those little critters live in a healthy intestine and enable us to absorb the nutrients in our food. If you've EVER been on a course of antibiotics (what a word! against life? seriously? who thought that up?) and what American hasn't been in this day and age, probiotics (a much better word) are exactly what you need. Get those microbes back up and running.
And I love that you still have such a hungry mind, Tom. If you never stop learning you'll stay young until the day you quit breathing.
A most interesting topic, and if you want to study unusual teensey-weensey lil critters, may I suggest a visit to a certain motor home in Jersey - quite a wide variety reside there!
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Regis
Ron
Love ya!
Jane
And I love that you still have such a hungry mind, Tom. If you never stop learning you'll stay young until the day you quit breathing.
Hugs, babe
Sand