Microscope

is an instrument used to see objects that are too small to be seen by the naked
eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using such an
instrument. Microscopic means invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope.
There are many types of microscopes, and they may be grouped in different ways. One way is
to describe the way the instruments interact with a sample to create images, either by sending a
beam of light or electrons to a sample in its optical path, or by scanning across, and a short
distance from the surface of a sample using a probe. The most common microscope (and the
first to be invented) is the optical microscope, which uses light to pass through a sample to
produce an image. Other major types of microscopes are the fluorescence microscope,
the electron microscope (both the transmission electron microscope and the scanning electron
microscope) and the various types of scanning probe microscopes.[1]

The functional parts of the

microscope
Historians credit the invention of the compound microscope to the Dutch spectacle maker,
Zacharias Janssen, around the year 1590. The compound microscope uses lenses and light
to enlarge the image and is also called an optical or light microscope (vs./ an electron
microscope). The simplest optical microscope is the magnifying glass and is good to about
ten times (10X) magnification. The compound microscope has two systems of lenses for
greater magnification, 1) the ocular, or eyepiece lens that one looks into and 2) the
objective lens, or the lens closest to the object.

Basic parts of the microscope:

Eyepiece Lens: the lens at the top that you look through. They are usually 10X or 15X
power.

Tube: Connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses

Arm: Supports the tube and connects it to the base

Base: The bottom of the microscope, used for support

Illuminator: A steady light source used in place of a mirror. If your microscope has a
mirror, it is used to reflect light from an external light source up through the bottom of the
stage.

Stage: The flat platform where you place your slides. Stage clips hold the slides in place.
If your microscope has a mechanical stage, you will be able to move the slide around by
turning two knobs. One moves it left and right, the other moves it up and down.

Revolving Nosepiece or Turret: This is the part that holds two or more objective lenses
and can be rotated to easily change power.

Objective Lenses: Usually you will find 3 or 4 objective lenses on a microscope. They
almost always consist of 4X, 10X, 40X and 100X powers. When coupled with a 10X (most
common) eyepiece lens, we get total magnifications of 40X (4X times 10X), 100X , 400X
and 1000X. To have good resolution at 1000X, you will need a relatively sophisticated
microscope with an Abbe condenser.

Rack Stop: This is an adjustment that determines how close the objective lens can get to
the slide. It is set at the factory and keeps students from cranking the high power objective
lens down into the slide and breaking things. You would only need to adjust this if you were
using very thin slides and you weren't able to focus on the specimen at high power.

Condenser Lens: The purpose of the condenser lens is to focus the light onto the
specimen. Condenser lenses are most useful at the highest powers (400X and above).
Microscopes with in stage condenser lenses render a sharper image than those with no lens
(at 400X). I

Diaphragm or Iris: Many microscopes have a rotating disk under the stage. This
diaphragm has different sized holes and is used to vary the intensity and size of the cone of
light that is projected upward into the slide. There is no set rule regarding which setting to
use for a particular power. Rather, the setting is a function of the transparency of the
specimen, the degree of contrast you desire and the particular objective lens in use.

MICROSCOPE HISTORY - WHO

INVENTED THE MICROSCOPE?
During the 1st century AD (year 100), glass had been invented and the
Romans were looking through the glass and testing it. They
experimented with different shapes of clear glass and one of their
samples was thick in the middle and thin on the edges. They discovered
that if you held one of these “lenses” over an object, the object would
look larger.

Someone also discovered that you can focus the rays of the sun with one
of these special “glasses” and start a fire. These early lenses were called
magnifiers or burning glasses. The word lens by the way, is derived
from the latin word lentil, as they were named because they resembled
the shape of a lentil bean (look up lens in a dictionary).

These lenses were not used much until the end of the 13th century when
spectacle makers were producing lenses to be worn as glasses.

The early simple “microscopes” which were really only magnifying

glasses had one power, usually about 6X - 10X . One thing that was very
common and interesting to look at was fleas and other tiny insects.
These early magnifiers were hence called “flea glasses”.

Sometime about the year 1590, two Dutch spectacle makers, Zaccharias Janssen and his
father Hans started experimenting with these lenses. They put several lenses in a tube and
made a very important discovery. The object near the end of the tube appeared to be
greatly enlarged, much larger than any simple magnifying glass could achieve by itself!
They had just invented the compound microscope (which is a microscope that uses two or
more lenses).

Galileo heard of their experiments and started experimenting on his own. He described the
principles of lenses and light rays and improved both the microscope and telescope. He
added a focusing device to his microscope and of course went on to explore the heavens
with his telescopes.
Anthony Leeuwenhoek of Holland became very interested in lenses while working with
magnifying glasses in a dry goods store. He used the magnifying glass to count threads in
woven cloth. He became so interested that he learned how to make lenses. By grinding and
polishing, he was able to make small lenses with great curvatures. These rounder lenses
produced greater magnification, and his microscopes were able to magnify up to 270X!

Anthony Leeuwenhoek became more involved in science and with his new improved
microscope was able to see things that no man had ever seen before. He saw bacteria, yeast,
blood cells and many tiny animals swimming about in a drop of water. From his great
contributions, many discoveries and research papers, Anthony Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
has since been called the "Father of Microscopy".

Robert Hooke, an Englishman (who is sometimes called the “English Father of

Microscopy”), also spent much of his life working with microscopes and improved their
design and capabilities.

Little was done to improve the microscope until the middle of the 19th century when great
strides were made and quality instruments like today’s microscope emerged. Companies in
Germany like Zeiss and an American company founded by Charles Spencer began
producing fine optical instruments.

Today, there are no microscope manufacturers in the US and most of the microscopes
come from Germany, Japan and China. Toy plastic microscopes should be avoided as they
do not achieved the level of quality of the basic instruments with metal frames and glass
lenses.

Because of foreign production, quality microscopes have become affordable for all.
Zaccharias Janssen, the inventor of the microscope would marvel at the quality of even the
most basic microscopes found in schools today.