A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that contain information about the surface topography and composition of the sample. The electron beam is scanned in a raster scan pattern, and the position of the beam is combined with the intensity of the detected signal to produce an image. In the most common SEM mode, secondary electrons emitted by atoms excited by the electron beam are detected using a secondary electron detector. The number of secondary electrons that can be detected, and thus the signal intensity, depends, among other things, on specimen topography. Some SEMs can achieve resolutions better than 1 nanometer.
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards which include medium-density fibreboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB) and particle board (chipboard).
Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibres, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming it into panels by applying high temperature and pressure. MDF is generally denser than plywood. It is made up of separated fibres but can be used as a building material similar in application to plywood. It is stronger and denser than particle board.
Drywall is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick sheets of facer and backer paper, used in the construction of interior walls and ceilings. The plaster is mixed with fiber ; plasticizer, foaming agent; and additives that can reduce mildew, flammability, and water absorption.
A herbarium is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
Sandpaper and glasspaper are names used for a type of coated abrasive that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with abrasive material glued to one face.
A paper machine is an industrial machine which is used in the pulp and paper industry to create paper in large quantities at high speed. Modern paper-making machines are based on the principles of the Fourdrinier Machine, which uses a moving woven mesh to create a continuous paper web by filtering out the fibres held in a paper stock and producing a continuously moving wet mat of fibre. This is dried in the machine to produce a strong paper web.
Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials, such as plastic. A laminate is a permanently assembled object created using heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. Various coating machines, machine presses and calendering equipment are used.
Luca Ghini was an Italian physician and botanist, notable as the creator of the first recorded herbarium, as well as the first botanical garden in Europe.
Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting is an ancient practice with records of a Chinese botanist collecting roses over 5000 years ago.
Augustine Henry was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a recognised authority and was honoured with society membership in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, and Poland. In 1929 the Botanical Institute of Peking dedicated to him the second volume of Icones plantarum Sinicarum, a collection of plant drawings. In 1935, John William Besant was to write: 'The wealth of beautiful trees and flowering shrubs which adorn gardens in all temperate parts of the world today is due in a great measure to the pioneer work of the late Professor Henry'.
Herbar Digital is a research project at the Fachhochschule Hannover (FHH) from 2006 to 2011 for rationalising the virtualization of botanical document material and their usage by process optimization and automation.
In biology, determination is the process of matching a specimen of an organism to a known taxon, for example identifying a plant. The term is also used in cellular biology, where it means the act of the differentiation of stem cells becoming fixed. Various methods are used, for example single or multi-access identification keys.
Though there is no international authority mandating standards for the collection and preservation of specimens of insects and similar invertebrates, entomology has been an amateur and scientific activity for over two centuries. During this period practices varied widely and in many respects commonly differed greatly from modern practice. However, by the mid-twentieth century a range of technique and of equipment had emerged that amount to a de facto standard. Although there is some flexibility concerning the details, practitioners who diverge too widely from that standard are likely to find their work ignored as unacceptable anywhere in the modern world. One beneficial effect of the standard is that equipment and supplies have become available for practically any aspect of collection, preservation and documentation of specimens.
Oshibana (押し花) is the art of using pressed flowers and other botanical materials to create an entire picture from these natural elements. Such pressed flower art consists of drying flower petals and leaves in a flower press to flatten and exclude light and moisture. These elements are then used to "paint" an artistic composition. The origin of this art form has been traced to 16th century Japan, but it is now practiced worldwide. The resulting artwork is referred to as an oshibana.
Theodoros Orphanides or Orphanidis was a poet, professor, politician, author, and botanist. He is one of the most important Greek scientists of the 19th century. He helped organize the botanical garden in Greece. The genus Orphanidesia is named after him. He collected 3483 specimens from 21 countries and identified 413 specimens from 9 different countries. He was a Professor of Botany at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He was one of the leading representatives of the First Athenian School. He received the Ralio award three times.
The conservation and restoration of herbaria includes the preventive care, repair, and restoration of herbarium specimens. Collections of dried plant specimens are collected from their native habitats, identified by experts, pressed, and mounted onto archival paper. Care is taken to make sure major morphological characteristics are visible. Herbaria documentation provides a record of botanical diversity.
The conservation and restoration of insect specimens is the process of caring for and preserving insects as a part of a collection. Conservation concerns begin at collection and continue through preparation, storage, examination, documentation, research and treatment when restoration is needed.
En Tibi herbarium, short for En tibi perpetuis ridentem floribus hortum is a 16th century herbarium. It contains 473 dried plant specimens, belonging to 455 species and subspecies and 97 families, and is one of the largest and oldest known of its kind. The large 42 × 29 cm book has a fine leather binding, blind and gold embossed ornamentations, and gilt and gauffered edges. The characteristics of the paper and the consistent anvil-and-hammer watermark indicate that all the sheets are from a single source. A valuable and costly 16th-century object, its full provenance is unknown; its earliest possessor was the Habsburg Emperor Emperor Rudolph II in the 1500s. The book is currently held in the treasure room of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden.
