Compound Microscope

Hans Lippershey

Zaccharias Hanssen
 Hans Lippershey

Zaccharias Hanssen
A compound microscope is a
microscope with two or more convex
lenses.
A light source is used to illuminate
what is being observed.

There are usually four objective lenses

with magnifications of 4X, 10X, 40X,
and 100X.
 Head
Eyepiece

Revolving Nosepiece

Objectives
Arm
Coarse Adjustment Knob
Stage

Fine Adjustment Knob

Diaphragm

Illuminator

Base
 Lenses

• composed of two lenses:

objective = short focal length

eyepiece = focal length of few cm

• lenses separated by some distance greater

than either lens' focal length
 How does it work?
• object placed outside the focal length of
objective, forms inverted image near focal
length of eyepiece

• eyepiece magnifies the image

• the lenses of a compound microscope
bend the light that you shine from the
bottom through the sample to make it
seem larger. there are two lenses to add
to (compound) the effect
 Image Formation

•The object (O) is placed just outside Fo, the principal focus of the objective lens.

•Fe is the principal focus of the eye lens.

•A real, inverted magnified image I1 is formed. The magnified image I1 acts as an object for the eye lens.

•The final image I2 is virtual and is magnified still further. It is inverted compared with the object.
I2 may appear 1000 times larger than the object.
 Magnifying Power

Definition:

Magnifying Power
-the ratio of the size of the final image (I 2) as seen through the
microscope to the size of the object as seen with a naked eye.
 Physics behind…
Magnification produced by the objective is given by:
Mo= size of image / size of object
Mo= q1/ p1--------------- (1)

Magnification produced by the eye piece is given by:

Me= size of image / size of object
Me= q2/ p2
Me= d / p2--------------- (2)

Using thin lens formula for eye piece :

 1/f2 = 1/q2 + 1/p2

Here f2 = fe, q2 = - d and p = p2

1/fe = 1/-d + 1/p2
1/fe = -1/d + 1/p2
Multiplying both sides by "d"
d/fe = -d/d + d/p2
d/fe = -1 + d/p2
1 + d/fe = d/p2
d/p2 = 1 + d/fe----------------(3)
Comparing equation (2) and (3)
Me = 1 + d/fe--------(4)
 Total Magnification:

M =Mo X Me
M = (q1/p1)(1 + d/fe)
In order to get maximum magnification, we must decrease p 1 and increase
q1 .Thus maximum possible value of p1 is fo i.e p = fo and maximum possible
value of q1 is the length of microscope i.e q1 = L
Therefore the magnification produced by a compound d microscope is
given by:

M = (L/fO)(1 + d/fe)
 Sources

• http://www.microscope.com/compound-microscope-history-t-4.html
• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-compound-microscope.htm
•Serway 

fin. \:D/