Welcome to the Olympus Microscopy Resource Center digital movie gallery, featuring animated videos of specimens from our library of full-motion and time-lapse videos. The digital movies are downloadable as streaming media files that will play through a web browser using RealPlayer, which is available as a free download (basic package) or for a modest price (RealPlayer Plus). Additional information and links to Real.com are provided below. Digital movies may also be downloaded as *.MPEG files directly to your computer's hard drive for local playback.

Currently, our digital library features streaming videos from two galleries. Our chemical crystallization gallery contains time-lapse cinemicrography sequences that capture the crystallization, dissolution, sublimation, or melting of purified chemicals either in the solid form or dissolved in a suitable solvent. The pond life gallery features full-motion videos of minute creatures found in North Florida's ponds and lakes. Included are a wide diversity of organisms such as hydra, protozoa, rotifera, nematodes, and crustaceans. Use the links below to navigate to the digital movie galleries.

Collections of time-lapse sequences featuring common chemical crystals undergoing melting transitions and pond life captured with the MIC-D in full-motion video are presented in this gallery. Video sequences are presented either as interactive Java tutorials or in Windows Media Player, and available in several playback formats to match a variety of Internet connection speeds.

Chemical Crystals - Chemical compounds can exist in three basic phases: gaseous, liquid, or solid. Gases consist of weakly bonded atoms and expand to fill any available space. Solids are characterized by strong atomic bonding and have a rigid shape. Most are crystalline, having a three-dimensional periodic atomic arrangement. Some, such as glass, lack this periodic arrangement and are noncrystalline, or amorphous. Liquids have characteristics that fall in between gases and solids. This cinemicrographic collection shows time-lapse movies of various chemical compounds as they change physical states.

Pond Life - Freshwater ponds provide a home for a wide variety of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, insects, and animals. The vast majority of pond inhabitants, however, are invisible until viewed under the microscope. Beneath the placid surface of any pond is a microscopic metropolis bustling with activity as tiny bizarre organisms pursue their lives; locomoting, eating, trying not to be eaten, excreting, and reproducing. In this collection of digital movies, observe the activities of microscopic organisms taken from a typical North Florida pond.

Chemical Crystals - Chemical compounds can exist in three basic phases, gaseous, liquid, or solid. Gases consist of weakly bonded atoms and expand to fill any available space. Solids are characterized by strong atomic bonding and have a rigid shape. Most are crystalline, having a three-dimensional periodic atomic arrangement. Some, such as glass, lack this periodic arrangement and are noncrystalline, or amorphous. Liquids have characteristics that fall in between gases and solids. This cinemicrographic collection presents time-lapse movies of various chemical compounds as they change physical states.

Pond Life - Freshwater ponds provide a home for a wide variety of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, insects, and animals. The vast majority of pond inhabitants, however, are invisible until viewed under the microscope. Beneath the placid surface of any pond is a microscopic metropolis bustling with activity as tiny bizarre organisms pursue their lives; locomoting, eating, trying not to be eaten, excreting, and reproducing. In this collection of digital movies, observe the activities of microscopic organisms taken from a typical North Florida pond.

Your web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, or America Online) must be configured with a RealPlayer (version 7 or higher) plug-in to enable viewing of the digital videos. The latest software version, RealPlayer 8 Basic, will provide access to RealAudio, RealVideo, live events plus more features. In most cases, the RealPlayer 8 Basic installer automatically configures your web browser so that it starts RealPlayer 8 and begins playback when you click a RealMedia link. If RealPlayer 8 does not start when you click a RealMedia link, you must manually configure your web browser. Instructions for browser configuration are available at Real.com.

Minimum Windows computer system requirements are:

• 120 MHz Intel Pentium processor or equivalent (supports audio only)

• Windows 95 or Windows NT Service Pack 4

• 16 MB RAM

• 16-bit sound card and speakers

• 65,000-color video display card

• 28.8Kbps modem (supports audio only)

• Internet connection and web browser (Internet Explorer 4.01 or later or Netscape 4.0 or later)

You may download the basic RealPlayer software package or the upgrade version, RealPlayer Plus, by clicking on the Real.com button link below.