What in the “real” world does this title mean? I would argue that every paper given at this meeting in some way reflects an application in the real world, thus rendering this paper and this symposium redundant. But then again, here we are. of course, every one using an instrument will insist that his application is in some way unique and therefore not a common, mundane, “real-world” one. The “real-world” for an academically motivated scientist may be quite different from the “real-world” of the commercially motivated scientist. What happens in an asbestos testing lab is quite different from the activities of a consulting group using the microscope to solve industrial problems. Every application is “real world”.. .but they most certainly may be different.

And so, where to begin? For a start, consider the following “real world” situations: 1. a University using a microscope to support the research activities of that University,