THE MICROSCOPE 3.
Clean the mechanical parts with soft tissue paper and the
Light Microscope
 Operate through reflection of light from the object to
our eyes
Types
 Simple microscopes
– Made of one lens
– Hand lenses
 Compound microscopes
– Has a heavy metal foot
– Platform on which to place what is being examined
– Nosepiece that platform
– Long tube at the top which is the eyepiece
Dark field microscope
 Specimen is illuminated by a special condenser that
provides oblique lights
 Light will not pass up into the tube of the microscope
unless it is deflected or scattered by the object
 Objects show up as brightly illuminated bodies
 Focuses a hollow cone of light in the plane of the
specimen
Phase Contrast microscope
 Enables contrast to be added to the normally
invisibles objects
 Depends on the ability of the specimen to alter the
wave form by retardation or absorption
 Light passing through the denser parts of the
specimen will appear dark
 Light passing directly thought the specimen and the
channel is retarded a quarter of wave length less
than of the plate
 Interference of the deviated and undedicated rays
produces the phase contrast effect
Stereoscopic Microscope
 Designed to produce a three-dimensional image
 Two low power microscopes set side by side at a
light angle to each other so a stereoscopic effect to
the image
 Restricted to quite low magnification
– Used in dissecting work
 Only occasional focusing necessary
Fluorescence Microscope
 Used to detect chemical bonding between certain
substances
 Treating one of the substances in the reaction with a
fluorescent dye
 Detection of antigen-antibody reactions.
 Labeled by chemically combining them with
fluorescent dyes
Electron Microscope
 Equipped with a binocular light microscope
 Magnifies about ten times and is used to view the
fluorescent screen where ether image is formed
 Magnification in millions of times
 High-resolution electron microscopes
 Top screen magnification in the region of 250,000
times
CARE OF THE MICROSCOPE
1. Carry the microscope properly by keeping it in an up-right
position as close to the body as possible with one hand grasps
the arms securely and the other hand supporting the base
firmly.
2. Be sure that it is placed squarely in front of your and kept
at a safe distance of about 3-4 inches from the edge of the
table.
lenses with lens paper before and after using it.
4. Avoid wetting any part of the microscope wit h water or
chemicals when suing temporary mounts. Wipe off dry any
part that accidentally gets wet with appropriate wiper.
5. If and only when a dry preparation or mount is to be
studied, tilting the microscope may be allowed provided it is
tilted only to a comfortable angle of not more than 30
degrees from the vertical. Use the inclination joint in the
process and don’t fail to return the microscope to its original
up-right position after use.
6. Do not remove any part of the microscope, unless
specifically directed to do so, and ascertain that no part is
missing or damaged before and after use. Report immediately
any observed irregularity of the microscope.
MECHANICAL PARTS OF THE MICROSCOPE
 Base –Heavy “Y” shaped foot on which the microscope
stands
 Pillar –Short supporting piece arising from, the base
 Arm –Short curved handle used in carrying the
microscope
 Inclination joint –Joint between the pillar and the arm
used to tilt the upper part
 Body tube –Attached to the arm and which bears the
lenses
 Draw tube –Upper portion of the upper lenses or the
eyepiece
 Rotating nosepiece –Revolving structure at the lower
and of the body tube
 Dust shield –Metallic structure above the nosepiece
which protects the lower lenses.
 Coarse adjustment screw –Knob geared to the tube
use to bring the object into focus
 Fine adjustment screw –Knob below the coarse
adjustment screw, used for more delicate focusing
 Stage – Platform with a central aperture and two clips to
hold the slide being studied.
 Mechanical stage –Moves the slide into focus
OPTICAL PARTS OF THE MICROSCOPE
 Mirror –Found below the stage with concave and flat
surfaces use to gather; directs the light to illuminate the
object
 Iris diaphragm – Found above the mirror consisting of
several metal blades which forms a circular opening;
controls the amount of light reaching the object
 Condenser –Further to concentrate the light rays into
the specimen
 Low Power Objective –shorter lens screwed to the
rotating nosepiece; bring the object into focus
 High Power Objective –longer lens screwed to the
rotating nosepiece; serves to form a larger image of the
object
 Ocular (Eyepiece) –found in the draw tube; for further
magnification of the object
TERMS RELATED TO MICROSCOPE USE
• Magnification –ability of the microscope to render the
fine detail of an object visible
 Resolving Power –depends upon two factors
– numeric aperture
– wavelength of light
 Numerical Aperture – designation of the amount of
light entering the objective from a point in the
microscopic field
 Refractive Index – Ratio of the velocity of light in a
medium as compared with that in a vacuum
–Amount of refraction of ray upon entering the medium
–Expression of the light-bending capacity of the medium
 Depth of Focus – Capacity of the objective lens to
render details of an object in different planes clearly at
the same time