physics

Leica Microsystems

Leica Microsystems is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leica Microsystems rather than just read about it. In short: Leica Microsystems GmbH is a German microscope manufacturing company. It is a manufacturer of optical microscopes, equipment for the preparation of microscopic specimens and related products.

Key takeaways

Leica Microsystems belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Leica Microsystems to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Leica Microsystems from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Leica Microsystems GmbH is a German microscope manufacturing company. It is a manufacturer of optical microscopes, equipment for the preparation of microscopic specimens and related products. There are ten plants in eight countries with distribution partners in over 100 countries. Leica Microsystems emerged in 1997 out of a 1990 merger between Wild-Leitz, headquartered in Heerbrugg Switzerland, and Cambridge Instruments of Cambridge England. The merger of those two umbrella companies created an alliance of the following 8 individual manufacturers of scientific instruments. American Optical Scientific Products, Carl Reichert Optische Werke AG, R.Jung, Bausch and Lomb Optical Scientific Products Division, Cambridge Instruments, E.Leitz Wetzlar, Kern & Co., and Wild Heerbrugg AG, bringing much-needed modernization and a broader degree of expertise to the newly created entity called Leica Holding B.V. group. In 1997 the name was changed to Leica Microsystems and is a wholly owned entity of Danaher Corporation since July 2005. Danaher is an American global conglomerate.

Details The company employed over 4,000 workers and had a $1 billion turnover in 2008. It is headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany, and represented in over 100 other countries. The company manufactures products for applications requiring microscopic imaging, measurement and analysis. It also offers system solutions in the areas of Life Science including biotechnology and medicine, as well as the science of raw materials and industrial quality assurance. Product categories include Virtual microscopes, Light microscopes, products for Confocal Microscopy, Surgical Microscopes, Stereo Microscopes & Macroscopes, Digital microscopes, Microscope Software, Microscope Cameras, Electron microscope Sample Preparation Equipment In the field of high resolution optical microscopy they produce commercial versions of the STED microscope offering sub-diffraction resolution. In 2007 they launched the TCS STED which operates at a resolution <100 nm. In 2009 they launched the TCS STED CW using a CW laser light source where a resolution <80 nm can be achieved. On 29 September 2011 Leica Microsystems and TrueVision 3D Surgical announced their intention to jointly produce products for ophthalmology and neurosurgery under the Leica brand.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leica Microsystems

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leica Microsystems claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leica Microsystems before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leica Microsystems ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leica Microsystems

In research: Leica Microsystems appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Leica Microsystems in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Leica Microsystems is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1997 establishments in Germany, 2005 mergers and acquisitions, Companies based in Hesse, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leica Microsystems outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Leica Microsystems in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leica Microsystems means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Leica Microsystems out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leica Microsystems in simple terms?

Leica Microsystems GmbH is a German microscope manufacturing company. It is a manufacturer of optical microscopes, equipment for the preparation of microscopic specimens and related products.

Why does Leica Microsystems matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leica Microsystems?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leica Microsystems.