The microscope is an important educational tool used in scientific research and education. It is used to produce a larger image of an object for projects ranging from medical discoveries to important educational training in schools across the nation. Microscopes use technology to allow people to view objects as they could never be seen with the naked eye alone.

A conventional microscope was first developed during the last part of the 16th century, which lead the world of science toward a prospering future in the world of medicine and biology. In it’s earliest years, the microscope was primarily used as a recreational device and was found mainly in wealthier homes. It wasn’t long, however, before technology and research began to blend for a new discovery relating to blood circulation. In addition, advancements in the study of bacteria and diseases were among the discoveries that followed.

Light Microscopes

The majority of microscopes are called light microscopes, which uses a series of high powered magnifying lenses in order to bend light rays. Studies continued through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries while, at the end of the nineteenth century, an even bigger development occurred. With the realization that electrons could be used as a light source in microscopes, scientists were provided with a never before seen resolution. The first electron microscope was unveiled approximately 75 years ago, which allowed for even smaller things to be researched and viewed. Among the advancements, atoms were finally visible for the first time and viruses could finally be identified with the powerful magnification and resolution of the electron microscope.

Caring For Your Microscope

A microscope is an important tool and should be treated carefully. Proper care should be exercised when handling, or transporting, a microscope in order to avoid damage to the unit. Always carry the microscope with both hands and in the upright position. If you have a special tote or a box, either will work fine for transportation. When the microscope is in use, always make sure that it is placed on a flat surface and one that is not shaky. A sturdy table is the best placement for a microscope, but avoid placing it close to the edge where it could fall off to the side.

After each use, follow the manufacturer’s instructions in proper cleanup of the unit, as well as any slides. If you do not plan to view the slide’s contents again, they should be cleaned in order to avoid interaction with future items that are placed on the slide for viewing.

While much emphasis is placed on scientific research and the technical aspects of microscopes, it’s important to remember that children can also benefit from the tool’s educational teachings. When you’re a child, it’s fun to collect a sample of anything and check it out under a microscope. Of course, microscopes begin as toys for smaller children and advance to larger, and more realistic models, such as the digital microscopes and as the child ages, they are better able to understand the importance of the tool. If a child learns to be familiar with a microscope at a young age, they will be much more prepared for biology classes and the various parts and styles of microscopes.

• What are Digital Microscopes? – The Digital Microscope is the newest innovation of microscopy that uses a digital camera in imaging.

It utilizes USB technology to produce live image viewable on a computer monitor. It makes use of an inverted lens design so specimens of variable sizes and shapes can be viewed with little or no preparation and a rotatable lamp that enables the illumination of opaque specimens by reflected light.

•  What are Compound Microscopes? – A Compound Microscope is a microscope that consists essentially of two or more double convex lenses fixed in the two extremities of a hollow cylinder.

The upper lens is the eyepiece and the lower lines in the objective. The cylinder is mounted upright on a screw device that permits it to be raised or lowered until the object is in focus and until a clear image is formed. When an object is in focus, a real inverted image is formed by the lower lens at a point inside the principal focus of the upper lens. This image serves as an object for the upper lens that produces another image larger still and visible to the eye of the observer.

• What are Stereo Microscopes? – A Stereo Microscope is a lower powered microscope instrument that features a large stage for closer viewing of the non-microscopic world.

This microscope makes tiny objects gigantic. It is known as a dissecting microscope. With stereo microscopes, tiny things became large, in layman’s terms, the flaws in gemstones and coins become obvious. There are inexpensive models that are available for children and students. The stereo microscopes provides zoom, improved optics and enhanced lighting that meet the demand of professional use.

• What are Electron Microscopes? – Electron Microscopes are those microscopes that use electrons rather than visible light to produce images.

Electron microscopes can magnify very small detail with high resolving power. This was invented by a German physicist Ernst Ruska. After Ruska introduced his invention to the world, the electron microscopes have evolved into something that is very distinct and advanced as a vital tool in the medical world today.

• What are Video Microscopes? – A Video Microscope is like a digital microscope. It is being powered through the use of video and digital cameras with many features that are specifically designed to suit microscopy.

The video and cameras used in video microscopes offer high resolutions coupled with high sensitivity. All are designed for broad range of imaging applications. They are designed to excel at rapid acquisition of low-light level fluorescence images.

• What are Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes? – Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes are instruments used in scanning probe microscopy. It can view very small images of any conductive surface and can inspect an area as small as 2 x 10-10 m or 0.2 nanometer.

Using its tip, it can alter the material being investigated by manipulating its atoms. This tip is connected to a scanner, a positioning device then a computer where the data is transmitted. The scanning tunnelling microscope allows a scientist to visualize areas of high electron density, consequently letting them understand the position of individual atoms, where before most could only give an educated guess.

• What is Confocal Microscopy? – Confocal Microscopy is a great tool used to get high-resolution images and restructured to create a 3 dimensional image of the scanned object. They are able to provide smooth and clear smudge free images with different depths then reconstructed to give an in-depth picture. A computer is used in this process allowing for a faster and easier image production. The use of lasers in later models allowed for it to be extremely accurate.

So there you have a few more different types of microscopes. Hopefully these brief explanations can give you a better understanding and a comparative view.

There are many different types of microscopes. You may have thought there was just one, the one you see in your school science class, but what are the different types and how do microscopes work exactly?

• Electron Microscope

Invented by a German physicist named Ernst Ruska, electron microscopes are mostly used in archaeology, medicine, and geology to look at surfaces or layers of objects. Rather than using light, electron microscopes use electrons to produce images. They have high resolution and can magnify in small detail.

• Compound Microscope

Used mostly in biology, compound microscopes have two or more double convex lenses. They produce a 2-D slice image of an object, yet can attain a high enough magnification to see a hair strand. Unfortunately, they do not have excellent resolution, so the image may be blurred. On the other hand, stereoscopic microscopes, as the name implies, provide a 3-D picture of bisected items, like muscle tissue or an organ.

Compound microscopes are the simplest type of microscope and are found in many classrooms. Compound microscopes are operated entirely by hand and use ordinary ambient light from the sun or light bulb. The specimen is mounted between two glass slides, and the microscope system uses a simple series of magnifying lenses and mirrors to bring the image to the eyepiece, much like a telescope.

• Stereo Microscope

While a compound microscope provides a 3-D picture, a stereo microscope provides a 3-D picture of bisected items such as muscle tissue or organs. A stereo microscope is a lower-powered microscope with low magnification. Although you cannot make out separate cells, it does allow for closer viewing of the non-microscopic world.

This microscope makes tiny objects gigantic and is sometimes called a dissecting microscope. Inexpensive models of stereo microscopes are available for schools and students. The stereo microscope has a zoom as well as improved optics and lighting and can be used for professional purposes.

• Confocal Microscope

A confocal microscope is a step down from those above. It uses a laser beam to illuminate a specimen. Then, the image is digitally enhanced and viewed on a computer monitor. The specimen is often dyed a bright color for a more contrasting image. Unlike compound microscopes, confocal microscopes are controlled automatically with motorized mirrors that help with auto-focus.

• Digital Microscope

Made up of a digital camera unit and a controller, a digital microscope is fairly new to microscopy. It utilizes USB technology to produce live images viewable on a computer monitor. A high pixel color CCD and light are built into the camera unit. It makes use of inverted lens design and has a rotatable lamp. The controller has various functions such as display, record, measurement, etc. Digital microscopes allows for quick observation, analysis and data processing without much preparation.

We all know a  microscope is a device which allows you to view something which is too small to be seen by the naked eye. Items which are often studied under a microscope can include a single hair formation, blood cells or skin cells. With the naked eye these are hard to see, and impossible to view in any detail. However, by using a microscope the intricacies of these and any other object are much more clearly revealed.

This kind of detail is often required in science or forensics and so those who use microscopes most in their work are often scientists of some degree.

Knowing what a microscope is used for is only half of the story. It is also interesting to consider how the technology works. The technical alignments of the components of a microscope are very detailed and can be incredibly hard to get right. However the basic principles of the function of a microscope are actually surprisingly simple.

A magnifying lens is situated in the part of the microscope which is placed near to the object being studied. This lens creates an enlarged image of the subject just inside the tube from the light which it reflects. This is quite a complex area of physics but the image of the object which is created inside the microscope is what is actually enlarged to enable a more in depth view of the subject.

Most microscopes actually contain two lenses, one at each end of the eye tube. Between them is an air separated couplet. This is known as a compound lens microscope. The image of the subject is created between the two lenses. The one closest to the subject is used to bring the image into focus while the one closest to the eye is used to help the eye focus on that image.

When viewing an object through a microscope correctly your eye should be focused to infinity. For those who use a microscope frequently, or for prolonged periods of time, and experience headaches or tired eyes it is usually as a result of incorrect focusing of the microscope. If it is focused correctly there should be no adverse affects to using a microscope often and for long periods at a time.

The invention of the microscope is shrouded in mystery as many have claimed to have been responsible for it but there is no real evidence to confirm any one individual. Names such as Galileo Galilei and Zacharias Janssen have been suggested but nobody knows for certain who it should be attributed to.

Almost everyone can remember the day in school when they got to the science class and the teacher had the microscopes on the table. We all knew the fun that could be had looking at things up close and the things that we came up with to look at were almost infinite.

Telescopes were also a favorite in the classroom, yet not quite as much as viewing the world of scabs, hair or whatever gross object that a middle school child could find to view up close and personal.

Microscopes and telescopes have the interesting effect on pre-teens and the thought process that they can come up with to view with microscopes and telescopes is often times quite original.

Microscopes and telescopes are quite similar in that they are both utilized to view objects up close. The utilization of microscopes and telescopes dates back to the early 17th century and the similarity in the use of convex and concave mirror and lenses to make them have not changed much in the last few centuries. While these similarities in materials have not changed the utilization of technology has increased the abilities of microscopes and telescopes.

Microscopes and telescopes have evolved into computer versions that allow the user to manipulate the scopes and view the images on a computer. The computerization of digital microscopes and telescopes allows the user to manipulate the imaging process as well as the search process.

Differences in Microscopes and Telescopes

Beyond the obvious viewing material, looking at organic material under a microscope or the stellar skies with a telescope the microscope and telescopes differ in the manner in which they produce images to the user and the various types of microscopes and telescopes produce varying results that enable the user to view various images. While microscopes provide the user with a view of material in an easier manner than the telescope user, since telescope use takes patience to find various objects in the sky.

While many of us have fond memories of our first microscopes and the dream of our very own laboratory and although many of us are older we can still pass that passion on to our own children or grandchildren by introducing them to microscopes and telescopes. So when looking back at your childhood and remembering the times with your microscope or telescope take the time to share those memories with youth in your life.