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Compound Microscopes - Most People Immediately Recognize A Compound

Compound microscopes illuminate samples from below with a light bulb and use two lenses to magnify the sample into a two-dimensional image visible through an eyepiece. Stereo microscopes produce a three-dimensional image using two eyepieces and illumination from above, making them useful for tasks like dissection. Confocal microscopes use a laser and computer assembly to create high-resolution three-dimensional images from selected sample depths.

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Shaira Cogollodo
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31 views

Compound Microscopes - Most People Immediately Recognize A Compound

Compound microscopes illuminate samples from below with a light bulb and use two lenses to magnify the sample into a two-dimensional image visible through an eyepiece. Stereo microscopes produce a three-dimensional image using two eyepieces and illumination from above, making them useful for tasks like dissection. Confocal microscopes use a laser and computer assembly to create high-resolution three-dimensional images from selected sample depths.

Uploaded by

Shaira Cogollodo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Compound Microscopes - Most people immediately recognize a compound

microscope from seeing them in movies or using them in their student days. The original
microscope design was a compound optical, and it's still the most commonly used
today.

A compound microscope works by illuminating the slide from underneath with a light
bulb. The specimen is then magnified by a series of lenses, one near the slide (called
the objective lens) and one near the top (called the eyepiece). This results in a two-
dimensional image that you can adjust depending on the strength of your lenses.

Compound microscope parts vary per design, but are usually pretty standard. This
makes them easy for anyone to learn and use. Other advantages of compound
microscopes are that they can go up to a high magnification and are affordable for
amateurs, students, and scientists. A disadvantage is that they have a lower resolution,
so your image will never be as crisp and sharp as some more advanced types of
microscopes.

Stereo Microscopes - A stereo microscope differs from a compound microscope in a


few key features. The most critical difference you may notice is that it has two
eyepieces instead of one.

The purpose of the stereo microscope is to produce a three-dimensional image, hence


the two eyepieces that send a different image to the right and left eye. The specimen is
usually lit from above, rather than underneath. This makes the stereo microscope ideal
for dissection, inspection, circuit board work, manufacturing, or use with any opaque
specimen.

Stereo microscopes are very easy to use and are fairly inexpensive, making them ideal
for amateurs, professionals, and people in industries that aren't overtly scientific. They
have a low magnification so you cannot see individual cells, which may or may not be
an advantage depending on your needs. Their biggest use is the ability to create three-
dimensional images.

Confocal Microscopes - Unlike stereo and compound microscopes, the visible light
source comes from a laser. The laser scans the sample with the help of a series of
scanning mirrors, assembles the image in a computer, and displays the image on a
screen. No eyepieces here.

Because the laser can penetrate a sample deeper than light from a bulb, you can create
a three-dimensional image from a selected depth of the specimen. So you can examine
interior structures of a non-opaque specimen, or look at the surface of an opaque
specimen as deep as the laser light can penetrate. This results in highly selective,
detailed images.

As you can imagine, confocal microscopes aren't for the layperson. They cost tens of
thousands of dollars or more, and are used by research scientists such as molecular
biologists.
 

These days, many optical microscopes send their image to a computer screen rather
than an eyepiece. Then they're often referred to as digital microscopes, but the light
source and interior parts of the microscope are still the same. These have become
much more popular over the years, because it's way easier to look at a large screen
than a tiny eyepiece!

Electron Microscopes
The next category is electron microscopes. Many people have heard of these, but aren't
clear how they actually work. Put simply, an electron microscope scans with electrons
rather than visible light, resulting in a very detailed (and awesome looking) image. This
works because the wavelength of the electrons is much smaller than the wavelength of
light from a bulb or laser, allowing for greater detail when scanning. There are two main
types of electron microscope:

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - A SEM sends a beam of focused electrons to


the sample, which bounce off to create a three-dimensional surface image. With this
method, you can create a picture with high magnification and high resolution, but it will
always be an exterior view.

When using a SEM, the sample must be electrically conductive enough so the electrons
actually bounce off it to create the image. Thus specimens are often coated in a thin
layer of gold or other metal.

Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) - A TEM works by sending the beam of


electrons through a very thin specimen. So rather than scanning over and bouncing off,
the electrons pass through the sample to create a highly detailed two-dimensional
image.

Since the TEM allows for such incredible interior detail, they're often used in medical
research and nanotechnology.

Electron microscopes are very expensive and technical to use. Thus they're for serious
scientists, not students or hobbyists. There are some disadvantages of electron
microscopes, but their contribution to research is invaluable.

Other Types of Microscopes
Most other types of microscopes are less common and used by research scientists.
These include:

 Scanning Probe Microscope - These scan the sample with a physical probe.
The tip of the probe raster scans (goes line by line) the specimen and generates
an image with a computer. Unlike an electron microscope, these scan in normal
air rather than a vacuum (or partial vacuum). But the scanning can be slow and
the maximum image size is limited.

 Scanning Acoustic Microscope - These use a principle similar to sonar, in that


they employ sound waves to measure the sample. This type of microscope, called
a SAM, is used to find cracks and voids, detect counterfeit materials, test for
failure and reliability, and perform quality control on physical materials. They can
also provide information on the elasticity of cells for biological research.

 X-ray Microscope - This one uses electromagnetic radiation in the form of x-


rays to produce images of tiny objects. Unlike an electron microscope, it can be
used to generate an image of living cells. They're useful in biological research and
metallurgy, as the images are highly detailed.

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