= Frits Zernike
{c}
{tag=Physicist}
{title2=1888–1966}
{wiki}
<Frits Zernike> developed <phase-contrast microscopy>, making transparent structures visible through changes in <wave phase>. A weakly absorbing specimen may change the <wave phase> of transmitted <light> without producing much ordinary intensity contrast. Shifting the relative <wave phase> of the direct and diffracted components lets their <wave interference> convert that information into visible brightness differences. His discovery began with imperfections in <diffraction gratings>, before becoming a method for observing transparent specimens.<How I discovered phase contrast by Frits Zernike>[1953 authored lecture, diffraction-grating motivation and phase-strip microscopy]{ref}
A <physicist>.https://www.rug.nl/fse/nobelprize-zernike/frits-zernike-1888-1966?lang=en[Independent professional profile]{ref}
\Image[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Redirect/file/Frits%20Zernike%20%281953%29.jpg?width=250]
{title=Portrait of <Frits Zernike>}
{description=Anefo; Nationaal Archief, 4 November 1953. Individual photographer not separately named in the File. Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/[Source usage terms], via Wikimedia Commons.}
{source=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frits_Zernike_%281953%29.jpg}
{width=250}
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