The Microscope: Do you know how it works?

People use microscopes all the time in science. Do you know how it works though? Can you distinguish between different types of microscopes? Once you’ve read this article, the answer to those questions will be “Yes!” 

The purpose of a microscope is to magnify. A microscope can magnify a cell so we can observe the cell up close and personal. Before we explain the different types of microscopes, there are two terms that one should know about microscopes:

Magnification: Increase of an object’s apparent size

Resolution/Resolving Power: The distance needed to distinguish two points as separate. 

Compound Light Microscope:

Light passes through a set of glass lenses to enlarge the cell. The compound light microscope can magnify up to 2000X. The resolving power is up to 200 nanometers. The image is flat. This microscope can view living specimen which sets it apart from the other two types of microscopes we will talk about. 


Transmission Electron Microscope:

Electrons pass through the specimen and are brought into focus by the set of magnetic lenses to enlarge the specimen. The image is flat. The resolving power is up to .2 nanometers. One cannot view living specimens with this microscope. This microscope has high magnification, up to 500,000X which sets it apart from the other microscopes. 

Scanning Electron Microscope:

A narrow beam of electrons is scanned over the surface of a specimen (which is coated with a thin layer of metal). This microscope magnifies up to 100,000X. The resolving power is 1 nanometer. This microscope cannot view living specimen. This microscope produces a 3D image which sets it apart from other microscopes.

And now you know more about microscopes and how they work! 

~Simply Cells~