Microscope Magnification

For a biology student, microscopes are a crucial and integral part of their academic life. After all if there is one laboratory equipment that is crucial in biological studies, it is probably the microscope. In order to effectively use this instrument, it is important to understand the mechanism that facilitates the functioning of a microscope. How do microscopes work? Magnification is their basic function which means that they expand the view on a small subject allowing the users of the microscope access to microscopic details. This instrument has been extremely helpful to understand the functioning of the natural world at the minutest of levels. In this Buzzle article, we try and understand the concept of magnification and learn how to magnify an object under a microscope.

Magnification by a Microscope: An Overview

When you talk about magnification, what do you refer to? In the simplest of terms the power of magnification on a microscope refers to the degree to which the instrument can enlarge the object placed in its view. The calculation is done in multiples, therefore when you try to magnify an object, you will do it in multiples like 2x, 4x, 10x, etc. This refers to the fact that the object has been magnified to look that many times bigger than its original size. Typically the most common magnification powers are 4x, 10x, and 40x. This is for laboratory microscopes but do you have microscopes that are weaker and stronger. If using a light microscope, then typically magnification in visible range light is up to 1500x. There are many different types of microscopes and each of these types have different powers. While working with a compound microscope, it is always better to start out with lowest magnification and them move on to higher magnification powers.

If you want to know why a microscope magnifies, the simplest answer of course is because it is constructed in such a manner that it alters the direction of light rays in a definite way to enlarge the image of the object. The magnification power of a microscope needs to be modified in proportion to the distance. If you are using magnification of a higher power, then the lens needs to be position close to the object. This lens object distance adjustment is very important for proper focusing. The use of magnification is of course to enable academicians, researchers, and scientists to study biological structures at their cellular level. It allows them to understand the functioning and structure of different life forms. One thing that you need to know about magnification levels is that the magnification is modifiable on both eyepieces and the lens of the microscope. To determine the magnification, you need to check the casing on the lens extension on which it should be printed.

So how do you magnify objects using a microscope? To view an object, place the slide over the aperture and hold it in place with the stage clips. Before this you will need to ensure that the stage is all the way down and the scanning objective is locked. Look through the eyepiece and then start moving the stage upwards to start focusing the image. Use the coarse adjustment knob to do this. Once it is focused, to magnify it further, rotate the nose-piece to face the slide, and while looking through the eyepiece, focus the image using the fine adjustment knob. You can use the second lens on the nose-piece to further magnify the object on the slide. If you want to find out the final magnification power, then you need to multiply the power of the objective with the power of the eyepiece, all of which are important parts of a microscope.

Hopefully, this information on magnification power of microscopes has helped you understand how the microscope works and how you can magnify an image of an object held under a microscope.