Microscope
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-
1723): Father of microscope
Definition
The microscope is an instrument
by which form of life far beyond
the perception of the naked eye
can be brought with in the range
of normal vision
PARTS OF
MICROSCOPE
Parts of microscope
It has 3 main parts which are as
follows :
1. base
2. Body
3. Optical system
PARTS OF MICROSCOPE
I. base:
It is horse shoe shaped .Made of solid
iron. so that it may support the load ,it has
to carry and impart balance and stability
to the instrument. It is designed to support
the various optical parts with perfect
alignment
PARTS OF MICROSCOPE
II. BODY :
II. BODY
Parts of the body :
Stage
Substage
Condenser
Iris diaphragm
Mirror
II. Body
It consist of :
Stage:
A platform which serves to support the
specimen under observation
It has a central aperture allow the light
rays to pass up the slide on which the
specimen is mounted
Slide is kept in position by means of clip
attached to the upper surface of the stage
The movement of slide on the horizontal
and vertical plane are executed by screws
substage:
It is below the stage and works up and down by
screws
Condenser:
It is used to concentrate light
An iris diaphragm:
To regulate the amount of light falling on the
specimen
V. A mirror:
To reflect the light on the specimen it can be
turned in nay direction for reflecting light
It has two surfaces
[Link] surface used for sunlight
[Link] surface used for artificial light
III. Optical system:
Eyepiece , objective glass & condenser together
form the optical system of microscope
It consists of a body tube that holds the 2 lense
together.
A) COARSE ADJUSTMENT : It is used for rising &
lowering the objective lens so as to bring the
specimen in to focus & for fine adjustment for
delicate focusing movements
B) NOSE PIECE : It is provided with socket to
receive objectives of different magnifying
power . It can be rotated acc. To the need of
magnification
C] Objective lens
Its position is immediately above the
object and it forms a magnified image
D] Eye piece
It further magnifies the magnified image
formed by the objective
E] Limb of arm
It caries the illuminating apparatus ,the
stage and the observation tube
Types and uses of
microscope
There are different types of microscope
They are
Simple microscope
Compound microscope
Optical or light microscope
Phase contrast microscope
Dark field or dark ground
microscope
TYPES OF MICROSCOPE
Electron microscope
Oil immersion microscope
Fluorescence microscope
Specialized type microscope
Interference microscope
Polarization microscope
I. Simple microscope
It is an ordinary microscope with less
magnification power
II. Compound microscope
It provides magnification of about
thousands times
It is most commonly used
III. Optical or light microscope
It is used to see the microorganism
either in living state or after fixation
and staining. It is useful to see the
motility ,size ,shape and arrangement
of the microorganisms
IV. Phase contrast microscope
It improves the contrast and make evident the
structure within the cells that differ in the
thickness and refractive index
V. Dark field or dark ground microscope
In this microscope, reflected light is used instead
of transmitted light which is used in ordinary
microscope
The light rays falling on the object are scattered on
the objective lens with the result that the object
appears self luminous against dark background
In this type if contrast is used ,very slender
microorganism can also be seen which is not
visible under ordinary microscope
VI. Electron microscope
In this microscope a beam of
electrons are used instead of
light .it is very useful in the study of
cell structure of microorganism
VII. Oil immersion
microscope
In this magnification is produced by
oil immersion objective of light
microscope which makes most of
the bacteria visible
VIII. Fluorescence microscope
In this ultraviolet light is used as a source of light
which makes the stained microorganism to become
visible as shining against dark background
IX. Interference microscope
It uses interference between two white-light
illumination beams or rays to generate an image
with enhanced contrast. It not only reveals cell
organelles but also enable quantitative
measurement of the chemical constituents of cells
such as lipids ,proteins and nucleic acid
X. Polarization microscope
It has polarizer and analyzer which enables the
detail study of different intra cellular structure of the
microorganism
Care of microscope
Always carry a microscope with both
hands ,place the palm of one hand under the
base of microscope and with second hand hold
firmly the arm of the microscope .Never hold by
the body tube
Place it gently and carefully on the table or desk
where it is going to be used
The instrument should be kept at a uniform
temperature and not expose to sunlight or any
source of heat
Place the lower power objective in position over
stage while leaving the microscope
The body of the microscope should be kept in a
erect position
Never lower the body tube with the coarse
adjustment unless the tip of the objective
from the side of the microscope is used for
observing, otherwise the slide may break
and ruin the lens
When the immersion objective is used ,a
drop of immersion oil must be placed on
the object before it can clearly brought in
to view
Remove oily substances from the optical
glass part by wiping it with lens paper
moistened with xylol
The dust may collect on the surfaces and
this may be removed by passing a soft
camel hair brush down the eye piece tube
after removing the eye piece
The mechanical parts may be clean by
application of olive oil on gauze which can
be wiped off with lence paper
Do not use alcohol or any other chemical
for cleaning the microscope
Do not attempt to repair the mechanism of
the instrument in case it is not functioning
Keep the microscope clean and handle all
parts with care
Glass parts should not be touched with
fingers
After use clean the microscope thoroughly
to protect it from dust and keep it under a
cover or in its box