Introduction to Microscopes!

Now Seeing IS Believing!

A Brief History
 Simple Glass Magnifiers
 More than 500 years ago.
 In 1600s, this “simple microscope” allowed scientists to
see cells and bacteria
 Problem: not enough
magnification
 First Compound Microscope
 Developed at the beginning of the 1600's, by the
Janssen brothers and Galileo
 Problem: images
were blurred and
had colored halos
Simple Compound Microscope

 Invented in
1660s
 Problem: all
images had red
or blue “halos”
around them
 Even better!
 1700 and 1800s – great
improvement in
microscopes
 Usually made of brass
(expensive)
 Had a tripod for support
 Modern Compound Microscope

 1900s, started using iron

instead of brass (cheaper)
 Only one eyepiece
(monocular)
 Outside light source
reflected onto mirror
 Very functional
 Still used today
Fancy!
 Better images
 More magnification
 Better lighting
 Easier to use
 Now everyone, at
one time or another,
has looked through
a microscope
 How Does It Work?
 A microscope works very much like a telescope.
 A telescope must gather light from a dim, far away object.
 So, it needs a large
objective lens to
gather as much light
as possible and a
long body to bring
the image into focus.
 How Does It Work?
 Unlike a telescope, a
microscope must gather light
from a tiny specimen that is
close-by.
 So the microscope does not
need a large objective lens.
 Instead, the objective lens of
a microscope is small.
 Then the image is again
magnified by a second lens,
called an eyepiece, as it is
brought to your eye.
Parts of a Compound Microscope

So EASY a KID could use it!

Base

 The bottom of the

microscope, used
for support
 Hold this part
with one hand
when carrying a
microscope

←
Mirror

 Reflects the light

so the specimen is
easier to see

←
Stage

 The flat platform

where you place
your slides. 
 It has a hole in it
so light can shine
through
←
Clip

 Shiny clips on the

top of the stage
 Holds a slide in
place

←
Arm

 Supports the tube

and connects it to
the base
 The part you hold
when you carry
← the microscope
Coarse Adjustment
 Large, round knob
on the side of the
microscope
→  Either moves the
stage or the top
part of the
microscope up and
down
Fine Adjustment

 Small, round knob

on the side of the
microscope
 Used to fine tune
→ the focus after
using the coarse
adjustment knob.
 Eyepiece

→  The lens at the

top that you look
through.
 10X power
 Body Tube

 The long tube that

holds the eyepiece

→ and connects the

objective
Nosepiece

 Rotating part of
the microscope at
the bottom of the
body tube.

←  It holds the
objective lenses
High Power Objective

 The longest
objective lens
 The highest
magnification
→  40X lens
(40X x 10X =
400X
magnification)
Low Power Objective

 The shortest
objective lens
 The lowest
magnification
←  4X lens
(4X x 10X = 40X
magnification)
Mid Power Objective
 The medium
length objective
lens
 The medium
magnification
←  10X lens
(10X x 10X =
100X
magnification)
 Diaphragm

 Controls the
amount of light
going through the
hole in the stage

→
 Pop Quiz
1. What two parts should
you hold when you
carry a microscope?
Base & Arm

← 2. Where do you put a

←←
slide?
On the Stage

→ 3. To focus, what knob do

you turn first? Second?
First, Coarse Adjustment

← Second, Fine Adjustment

Test Your Skills . . .

 Arm
 Body Tube
 Stage
 Clip
 Base
 Coarse Adjustment
 Fine Adjustment
Test Your Skills

 High Power Objective

 Low Power Objective
 Mirror
 Eyepiece
 Nosepiece
 Diaphragm