Parts of the Microscope

and Their Functions

LYN ELSIE L. SANDEFER

Master Teacher I
ENHS – SHS
 Earliest Microscopes
 • 1590 - Hans & Zacharias Janssen of
Middleburg, Holland manufactured the
first compound microscopes
 • 1660 - Marcello Malpighi circa 1660, was
one of the first great microscopists,
considered the father embryology and
early histology - observed capillaries in
1660
 • 1665 - Robert Hooke (1635-1703) in
his book Micrographia, published in
1665, devised the compound
microscope most famous
microscopical observation was his
study of thin slices of cork. He wrote:
 1665, Robert Hooke examined a
thin slice of cork under a
microscope he built
 Hooke observed small
compartments and named it as
cellula – eventually was called cell
 •1673 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-
1723) Delft, Holland, worked as a draper
(a fabric merchant); he is also known to
have worked as a surveyor, a wine
assayer, and as a minor city official.
 •Leeuwenhoek is incorrectly called "the
inventor of the microscope“
 •Created a “simple” microscope that could magnify
to about 275x, and published drawings of
microorganisms in 1683

 •Could reach magnifications of over 200x with

simple ground lenses - however compound
microscopes were mostly of poor quality and could
only magnify up to 20-30 times. Hooke claimed they
were too difficult to use - his eyesight was poor.
 •Discovered bacteria, free-living and
parasitic microscopic protists, sperm cells,
blood cells, microscopic nematodes

 •In 1673, Leeuwenhoek began writing

letters to the Royal Society of London -
published in Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society, in 1680 he was elected
a full member of the Royal Society
 1730s, Chester More Hall - designed a
system that used a concave lens next to
a convex lens which could realign all the
colors. This was the first achromatic lens.

 George Bass was the lens-maker that

actually made the lenses, but he did not
divulge the secret until over 20 years
later to John Dolland who copied the idea
in 1759 and patented the achromatic
lenses
 In 1827 Giovanni Battista Amici, built
high quality microscopes and introduced
the first matched achromatic microscope
in 1827. He had previously (1813
designed “reflecting microscopes” using
curved mirrors rather than lenses. He
recognized the importance of coverslip
thickness and developed the concept of
“water immersion”
 Abbe and Zeiss developed oil immersion
systems by making oils that matched
the refractive index of glass. Thus they
were able to make the a Numeric
Aperture (N.A.) to the maximum of 1.4
allowing light microscopes to resolve
two points distanced only 0.2 microns
apart (the theoretical maximum
resolution of visible light microscopes).
 Dr Otto Schott formulated glass
lenses that color-corrected
objectives and produced the first
“apochromatic” objectives in 1886
 Modern Microscopes
 Early 20th Century Professor Köhler
developed the method of illumination
still called “Köhler Illumination”
 Köhler recognized that using shorter
wavelength light (UV) could improve

resolution
 Köhler illumination creates an
evenly illuminated field of view while
illuminating the specimen with a
very wide cone of light

 Two conjugate image planes are

formed – one contains an image of
the specimen and the other the
filament from the light
 Magnification
 An object can be focused generally no closer than
250 mm from the eye (depending upon how old you
are!)
this is considered to be the normal viewing distance
for 1x magnification

 Young people may be able to focus as close as 125

mm so they can magnify as much as 2x because the
image covers a larger part of the retina - that is it is
“magnified” at the place where the image is formed
 Using the Microscope in 10
Steps
Follow these instructions when using the
microscope. Click on each underlined word.

1. To carry the microscope, grasp the

ARM with one hand. Hold the BASE with
your other hand.
2. Adjust the DIAPHRAGM while looking
through the EYEPIECE.

3. Adjust the LIGHT SOURCE (mirror) until

you see the circle of light.
4. Place the slide on the STAGE.

5. Center the SPECIMEN over the small

opening on the STAGE.

6. Secure the slide with the STAGE CLIPS.

7. While looking at the STAGE from the side,
turn the COURSE FOCUS KNOB to lower
the BODY TUBE until the LOW POWER
OBJECTIVE almost touches the slide.
8. While looking through the EYEPIECE,
carefully move the COURSE FOCUS KNOB
until the specimen comes into view.

9. To switch to the HIGH POWER OBJECTIVE

LENS, look at the microscope from the side.
10. Move the NOSEPIECE until the HIGH POWER
OBJECTIVE LENS “clicks” into place. If the
lens hits the slide, the slide and/or lens might
break.
Turn the FINE FOCUS KNOB until the
specimen comes into focus.
Parts of a microscope
 Parts of a microscope
 Eyepiece
 Contains the 10X
magnifying lens
 Parts of a microscope
 Coarse
Adjustment Knob
 Focuses the image
under low power
 Use this first
 Parts of a microscope
 Fine Adjustment
Knob
 Focuses the image
under high power
 Use this last
 Parts of a microscope
 Nosepiece
 Holds the
objective lenses
 Revolves to
change
magnification
 Parts of a microscope
 Objectives
 Scanner (short, red)
 Magnifies 4X
 Low power (medium,
yellow)
 Magnifies 10X
 High power (long, blue)
 Magnifies 40X
 Oil-powered (longer, white)
 Magnifies 100X
 Parts of a microscope
 Stage
 Supports and
holds the
microscope slide
while viewing
 Parts of a microscope
 Stage clips
 Place on
microscope slide
to secure into
place after you
have focused on
your specimen
 Parts of a microscope
 Diaphragm
 Controls the
amount of light
available while
viewing sample
 Parts of a microscope
 Light source
 Shines light up
through the
diaphragm and
stage to light the
object being viewed
 Lighted area is
called your “Field of
View”
 Parts of a microscope
 Arm
 Supports the body
tube which
connects the
eyepiece to the
set of objective
lenses
 Parts of a microscope
 Body tube
 Parts of a microscope
 Base
 Supports the
microscope
 Magnification
 Multiply the eyepiece
magnification (10X) by the
objective magnification (4X, 10X,
40X)
 Example: 4 x 10 = 40X total
 How to use a microscope
 Place the slide on the stage
 Use stage clips to secure slide
 Adjust nosepiece to lowest setting
 (Lowest = shortest objective)
 Look into eyepiece
 Use coarse adjustment knob
 Thank you for listening!
Have a great day!