Confocal microscopy, most frequently confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) or laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), is an optical imaging technique for increasing optical resolution and contrast of a micrograph by means of using a spatial pinhole to block out-of-focus light in image formation. Capturing multiple two-dimensional images at different depths in a sample enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures (a process known as optical sectioning) within an object. This technique is used extensively in the scientific and industrial communities and typical applications are in life sciences, semiconductor inspection and materials science. Light travels through the sample under a conventional microscope as far into the specimen as it can penetrate, while a confocal microscope only focuses a smaller beam of light at one narrow depth level at a time. The CLSM achieves a controlled and highly limited depth of field. Basic concept The principle of confocal imaging was patented in 1957 by Marvin Minsky and aims to overcome some limitations of traditional wide-field fluorescence...

The Monastery of Serra do Pilar is a former monastery located in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, on the opposite side of the Douro River from Porto. The monastery is situated on an outcrop overlooking the Dom Luís I Bridge and the historic centre of Porto. Together with these locations, the monastery was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The monastery is notable for its church and cloister, both of which are circular. Site The Monastery of Serra do Pilar is located in the parish of Santa Marinha e São Pedro da Afurada in the historic centre of Vila Nova de Gaia. The monastery is prominently situated high above the Doura and can be accessed by Jardim do Morro Station on the Porto Metro's D Line. History Construction of the first monastery at the site began in 1538 by the Order of St. Augustine. The initiative dates back to 1527 under the orders of João III to serve as a larger monastic residence for monks from the Monastery of Grijó, in Grijó, which had been in a state of deterioration. The original monastery was completed in 1564 and the cloisters were finished in 1583. The first...

Reverberation mapping (or Echo mapping) is an astrophysical technique for measuring the structure of the broad-line region (BLR) around a supermassive black hole at the center of an active galaxy, and thus estimating the hole's mass. It is considered a "primary" mass estimation technique, i.e., the mass is measured directly from the motion that its gravitational force induces in the nearby gas.Newton's law of gravity defines a direct relation between the mass of a central object and the speed of a smaller object in orbit around the central mass. Thus, for matter orbiting a black hole, the black-hole mass M ∙ {\displaystyle M_{\bullet }} is related by the formula ...