Compound Microscope Basics and Uses

In modern times of science and technology, microscopes play a major role and that cannot be denied. Nowadays it is not only used specifically in few laboratories but can be found in schools, colleges and every other field wherein nature’s creation are too small to be viewed by naked eyes and they have to be seen to understand the operations of the same. Therefore we need to understand how a microscope - a Compound Microscope works.

What exactly is a Compound Microscope?

Compound means a microscope that has more than one lens and Microscope, if divided in to two different words as it is, "micro" means small and "scope" means view. Therefore in a whole the meaning is a device that would facilitate the viewing of small organisms with the help of multiple lenses. Simple Microscopes and Compound Microscope differ in the sense that Simple microscopes used a single lens and Compound Microscope uses more than one.

Compound microscope can be used for several purposes ranging from medical research to a day at the beach as your urge to know can only be inhibited by your imagination. Like every field of knowledge it is first necessary to know the basics and then remember them as and how you keep working on it.

Basics of a Microscope

• There are few basic functions that are same for every microscope. For every microscope to work there has to be a light source that would help to illuminate the object that has to be seen.
• The source of light can either be a mirror, which would reflect light from outside, or the device has to have a light source of its own.
• When light passes through the object, the lens that is nearest to the object will help to produce a magnified image of the specimen that is to be seen. The lens that is nearest to the object is called Objective Lens.
• The lens through which you look into the microscope is kid of a magnifying glass and helps to an extent to produce an enlarged image of that image that is already magnified by the objective lens of the specimen that is being viewed.
• So the magnification extent can be calculated by multiplying the power of the Objective Lens and the Magnifier.
• A Compound Microscope can magnify things up to 2000x, not more than that but then image larger than that neither our eyes would be able to recognize nor our brains would be able to read.

Parts of a Compound Light Microscope

A Compound light Microscope has an eyepiece, stage clips which hold the slide in place, objectives that consist of different lenses, Adjustment knobs, power switch and a stage where the slides are kept and below it is at he source of light that is inbuilt in a Compound Light Microscope. There are other parts also like a Diaphragm, base, body tube; nose piece, aperture, arm and stage stop which helps to determine that height of the stage- all these parts facilitate the closer and clearer viewing of the object through the Compound Light Microscope.

Uses of a Compound Microscope

A Compound Microscope is nowadays used in several fields of sciences like the Microbiology, Botany, Geology, Genetics and the like. Forensic experts and scientists can also find out the country from which the drug has come by viewing its particles under a Compound Microscope as the shape of the crystals can give a reference as to which country the opium was grown in. Microscopes also help in looking at the minute details of the human cells and determine the presence or absence of minerals, identify the presence of metals, thus solve crimes and discover medicines.

Microscopes are used in schools and colleges, which help the children to look at the virus and bacteria that they learn about in textbooks. Things they could have missed pout while reading makes an impact when they are actually seeing the exact things in an enlarged form.

I am sure this article would give an idea as to how a Compound Microscope works and what are its functions per se.