Optical microscope
Uses visible light and lenses to magnify small objects.
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The optical microscope uses visible light and lenses to produce magnified images of small objects.[1] Alternatives that do not use visible light include scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.[2] The diffraction limit of visible light typically restricts the maximum resolving power of optical microscopes to about 200 nanometers.[2]
Quick Facts
- Type
- Scientific instrument
- First appearance
- 17th century (compound form)
- Maximum resolving power
- Around 200 nanometers
- Basic types
- Simple and compound
- Common illumination methods
- Bright field
- dark field
- polarized light
- phase-contrast
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
One claim is that Zacharias Janssen invented the compound microscope as early as 1590.[3] Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is credited with bringing the microscope to the attention of biologists.[4] In the 1850s, John Leonard Riddell invented the first practical binocular microscope while investigating cholera.[4] No one knows for certain who invented the compound microscope, despite numerous historical assertions.[3]
Roughly 150 years of advancements in optics were needed for the compound microscope to achieve image quality equal to van Leeuwenhoek's simple microscopes.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Live Science account states that a Middelburg museum has one of the earliest Janssen microscopes, dated to 1595.[5] Galileo called his device an "occhiolino," or "little eye," according to the same source.[5] Van Leeuwenhoek's single lens microscopes could magnify up to 270 times larger than actual size.[5] The Microscope.com guide notes that a compound microscope will last a lifetime if cared for properly.[6]
That guide also advises carrying the microscope in both hands and placing it on a level, stable surface.[6] The classification source from msnucleus.org explains that a simple microscope consists of a single lens or several lenses grouped in one unit.[7] Examples of simple microscopes include reading glasses, jewelry eyepieces, and pocket magnifiers.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Optical microscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: J. William Rosenthal, Spectacles and Other Vision Aids: A History and Guide to Collecting, Norman Publishing, 1996, page 391–2; "Microscopy: Types of Microscopy", Hillsborough Community College (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Optical microscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ian M. Watt, "The Principles and Practice of Electron Microscopy", Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 6 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Optical microscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Origins of the Telescope", Amsterdam University Press, 2010, p. 32–36, 43 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Optical microscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Riddell JL, "On the binocular microscope", Q J Microsc Sci, 1854, p. 18–24; Cassedy JH, "John L. Riddell's Vibrio biceps: Two documents on American microscopy and cholera etiology 1849–59", J Hist Med, 1973, p. 101–108 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Who Invented the Microscope?", Live Science, 14 September 2013. facts only, no text reused. livescience.com
- "How to Use a Compound Microscope", Microscope.com. facts only, no text reused. microscope.com
- JR Blueford, "Lesson 2 – Page 3, CLASSIFICATION OF MICROSCOPES", msnucleus.org. facts only, no text reused. msnucleus.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Optical microscope (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Science & Measurement
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Optical microscope (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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