An instrument chain utilizing an ultraviolet light source, ultraviolet sensitive vidicon, camera, amplifier, monitor screen, and oscilloscope, facilitates the direct and rapid observation of the absorption properties of intact as well as fixed cells. The ultraviolet television microscope provides a means for rapidly scanning hundreds of cells and obtaining satisfactory comparative oscilloscopic tracings which express the qualitative absorption properties sufficiently for many biological purposes and is being improved to yield more accurate quantitative data. It may be used for accurate and quick focusing with ultraviolet light and camera. Living cells being scanned in a warm stage chamber may be moved through the beam so rapidly that exposure and injury are minimum. This instrument is most useful for directly observing cellular metabolic processes.