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 $25 \mathrm{nm} .$ 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. If the emitted light has a wavelength of $500 \mathrm{nm}$ and the NA of the microscope objective is 1.4 can a biologist looking through the microscope tell whether she is looking at a single microtubule or at two microtubules lying side by side?
Added by Ignacio C.
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61 \times \frac{\lambda}{NA} \] Given that $\lambda = 500 \, nm$ and $NA = 1.4$, we can plug in these values to get: \[ \text{Resolving Power} = 0.61 \times \frac{500}{1.4} = 217.86 \, nm \] ** Show more…
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