2. The Invention of the Microscope
• Renaissance invention (Mid 1600s)
• Credited for invention: Anton Van Leeuenhoek
• Constructed simple curved glass lenses in combination
3. Improvement of the Microscope
• Robert Hooke
• English biologist who discovered cells
• Increased magnification with improved lenses
4. Modern Compound Light Microscopes
Uses 2 lenses in combination to
magnify an image
Can view objects too small to be seen
with unaided eye
Object must be thin enough for light to
pass through
Can view living things
Typical magnification 100x to 1000x
See your packet for a detailed discussion of:
• Parts and their functions
• Proper use and handling
• Procedures for making a wet mount
5. Pushing the Limits: Electron Microscopes
• A light microscope cannot be used to distinguish objects that are smaller than half
the wavelength of light
• Any object with a diameter smaller than 0.275 micrometers will be invisible or, at
best, show up as a blur
• Electrons are speeded up in a vacuum until their wavelength is extremely short,
only one hundred-thousandth that of white light.
• Electron microscopes were developed in the 1930s
6. Electron Microscopes
• Uses a beam of electrons to view the specimen (not light)
• Specimen viewed must be prepared in a vacuum (no air molecules) therefore
living things cannot be viewed using this type of scope
• Magnifies up to 200,000x magnification
17. Transmission Electron Microscope
• Electrons pass
through the object
forming a one
dimensional picture
• Allows one to view
the inside of an
object
(ex. internal
structure of a cell)
21. Stereoscope
• Allows viewing of macroscopic objects with great detail
• Does not require light to pass through object
• Can view living things
• Typical magnification of 10X to 30X
