Microscope Lab Write Up
Unit 1
Unit 1
Throughout the years there have been several useful and important inventions. However, the most useful invention was the microscope. The first microscope was invented 413 years ago. The three founding fathers of microscopy were: Hans & Zacharias Janssen, Robert Hooke, Anton van Leeuwenhoek. Although the microscopes in earlier years lacked good quality lenses, over the years fellow fathers improved them.
The two main kinds of microscopes are light and electron; they vary a great amount from each other though. An electron microscope is a scientific instrument that uses a beam of high energetic electrons to examine objects on a fine scale. This electron microscope can examine several different pieces of info. Topography is the surface features of an object or "how it looks", its texture; direct relation between these features and materials properties. Morphology is the shape and size of the particles making up the object; direct relation between these structures and materials properties. Composition is the elements and compounds that the object is composed of and the relative amounts of them; direct relationship between composition and materials properties. Crystallographic Information How the atoms are arranged in the object; direct relation between these arrangements and materials properties. Whereas electron microscopes make it possible for us to distinguish molecules individually that has biological importance. They are not completely user friendly though. They are all equipped with a high power vacuum underneath of them which makes it impossible for a living specimen to show movements that characterize living cells. Light microscopes enable us to see living cells in action. At times operating a light microscope can be difficult to use because when trying to enhance the contrast between pale cells & the pale surroundings so that cell structures are visible along with their movement.
A microscope is a high precision optical instrument that uses a lens or a combination of lenses to produce highly magnified images of small specimens or objects especially when they are too small to be seen by the naked eye. A light source is used to make it easier to see the subject matter. People may view that telescopes are the same as a microscope when in return they lack few characteristics. When you look through a microscope the object is right below your finger tips, a telescope is miles away.
*Listed below are the parts that make up a microscope:
Head: Top part of the microscope. Contains mirrors that reflect images to the ocular lenses. Can rotate if set screw is loosened.
Arm: Vertical piece. Supports the head of the microscope, the stage, the condenser, and the focusing controls.
Base: Horizontal piece. This supports the microscope.
Stage: The platform that supports the slide. Hole in center allows light from condenser to pass through. Supports slide holder.
Slide holder: This holds the specimen slide in position. Controls movement of slide.
Knobs for moving slides: Control fine movement of the slide holder, front-to-back and side-to-side.
Coarse focus control: Moves stage up and down quickly to bring image of the specimen into approximate focus.
Fine focus control: Moves stage up and down slowly to bring image into final focus.
Revolving nosepiece: Holds three objective lenses, allows them to be switched.
Sub stage light source: Located above base. Includes a field diaphragm and a silver field diaphragm adjusting ring used to control width of light beam passing up to the condenser.
On/Off switch: Turns light source on and off.
Intensity Control: Changes the intensity (brightness) of light from the light source.
Voltmeter: Measures the voltage to the light source. Should not exceed half white and half green.
Condensers: Series of lenses that focus light on the specimen slide.
Overall the microscope has given such a farther look into medical field than ever before. Without the microscope the possibilities that there are now days would have never been possible before. The most common type of microscope is , the light microscope, it uses a glass lenses to focus light and create a high resolution image. All of the miscellaneous parts of the microscope work together to form a piece of technology that has expanded technology farther than ever. Without the microscope we would never see the entire living organism with the naked eye.
