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Dynamic diatoms
Dynamic diatoms these microscopic creatures float in their billions in the surface water of oceans and lakes. Not only are they the basis of marine and freshwater food chains, but they are also a vital component of sticks of dynamite! Each tiny cell is encased in a delicately sculptured shell of colourless glassy silica, highly resistant to chemical attack. After death, their shells accumulate on the ocean floor, and over millions of years form thick deposits of 'diatomaceous earth', or 'kielselguhr', a hard, inert material that forms the base of many disinfectant powders, tooth powders and pastes, pills, and filters for beer-making. It is used in the manufacture of dynamite to absorb nitrogylcerine. This image was made using Jamin-Lebedeff Interference contrast microscopy, in which the various colours produced by light interference are related to differences in the thickness of the cell walls.
Credit: M I Walker