Cocquyt Tiemen, Zhou Zhou, Plomp Jeroen, van Eijck Lambert
Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Lange Sint Agnietenstraat 10, Leiden, Netherlands.
Technische Universiteit Delft, Reactor Institute Delft, Mekelweg 15, Delft, Netherlands.
Sci Adv. 2021 May 14;7(20). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf2402. Print 2021 May.
The technique of neutron tomography has, after 350 years, enabled a first look inside the iconic single-lens microscopes of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Van Leeuwenhoek's 17th-century discovery of "animalcules" marks the birth of microbiology. His skillfully self-produced microscope lenses remained unsurpassed for over 150 years. Neutron tomography now enabled us to reveal the lens types Van Leeuwenhoek used. We argue that Van Leeuwenhoek's instruments incorporate some innovations that testify to an awareness of concurrent developments. In particular, our analysis shows that for making his best-performing microscopes, Van Leeuwenhoek deployed a lens-making procedure popularized in 1678 by Robert Hooke. This is notable, as Hooke always wanted to find the secret of Van Leeuwenhoek's lenses, but never managed to do so. Therefore, Van Leeuwenhoek was far from the isolated scholar he is often claimed to be; rather, his secrecy about his lenses was motivated by an attempt to conceal his indebtedness to Hooke.
经过350年的发展，中子断层扫描技术首次让人们得以窥探安东尼·范·列文虎克标志性的单透镜显微镜内部。列文虎克在17世纪发现“微生物”标志着微生物学的诞生。他巧妙自制的显微镜镜片在150多年里一直无人能及。如今，中子断层扫描使我们能够揭示列文虎克所使用的镜片类型。我们认为，列文虎克的仪器融入了一些创新，证明他了解同时期的技术发展。特别是，我们的分析表明，为了制造性能最佳的显微镜，列文虎克采用了1678年由罗伯特·胡克推广的一种镜片制造工艺。这一点值得注意，因为胡克一直想找到列文虎克镜片的秘密，但始终未能如愿。因此，列文虎克远非人们常说的那种孤立的学者；相反，他对镜片制作方法保密是为了隐瞒自己受惠于胡克这一事实。
