Microscope Lab Unit One

This is the cheek smear at 100x

This is the bacteria capsual at 40x

This is the Onion Root Tip at 10x

This is the letter "E" under 4x

The first microscope first came about into the world in 1595 thanks to one of the most brilliant men, Zacharies Janssen. Since he was so young at the time some say his father probably built the first one but Zach eventually took over the production. Two other men made great changes to the microscope and helping it are what it is today. The first was Hooke he vastly improved the image that is giving off from the microscope. Second was Van Leeuwenhoek he built the one lenses microscope. He was famous for more then just the microscope he also discovered the bacteria and helped prove the theory of blood circulation.

. There are four main microscopes in the world are:
· The Compound Light Microscope
· Dissection
· Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
· Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

These microscopes range in the quality to the price.

The most common being the compound light microscope and it also the cheapest one on the market. This offers a 2-D image and is light laminated.

Dissection microscope is also lit by a light but reveals a 3-D picture. This however has low magnification.

The SEM model is one of the more pricy ones but it does pay off. This offers a 3-D black and white high resolution and high magnification picture.

The most expensive is the TEM but gives off a 2-D high magnification and high resolution picture.

For our lab today we will be demonstrating the Compound Light Microscope:

These are the parts of the Microscope:

Aperture diaphragm

This is the hole in the stage that houses the slide. This also lets the light shine through to be able to view the slide. This is one of the most critical pieces of the microscope!!!

Body Tube

This part supports the eyepiece and objectives. It is critical that the tube be constructed so that this optics shares a common axis

Coarse Adjustment Knob

This moves either the body tube, or the stage up or down in a quick manner. A good coarse focus control will provide smooth, back lash free movement. This is used for the initial focusing magnification. You would use this before the fine focus. The coarse adjustment knob shouldn’t be moved unless it is set on the smallest magnification. It could crack or damage the specimen.

Eyepiece

The eye piece is self explanatory but I will amuse you anyways. The eye piece is how you view the slide!

Fine focus knob

This control allows for precise focusing of the specimen. This is best done when looking the microscope at the slide.

Base

It rests on the bench top and supports the stage and body of the microscope and in many cases also holds the lamp.

Arm

The arm is attached to the foot and supports the body tube.

Internal lamp

The lamp is used to light the objects in the slide for better viewing of the different parts. With out this you could not see the slides very well or at all.

Nosepiece

This accommodates at least 4 different magnification objectives. On the microscope that we are using today will have 4x,10x,40x, and 100x. This can change the magnification of the slide, letting you see more or less.

Objective

The objective is the actual microscope. This will let you examine objects to at least 400x the size. With out this the microscope would be pointless! These can be changed safely by looking at the microscope. If done when looking in the microscope it could damage the slide if the objective hits it.

Stage clips

These are the basic stage slide holders. Supplied in pairs, they are adequate for general slide manipulation up to a maximum of 400x. They hold the slides in place. This can affect image immensely if they were not present your slide may not stay still where you place it.

Stage

This is the platform that supports the specimen (which are typically mounted on glass slides). To do this job properly it must be perfectly perpendicular to the optical axis, dead flat and of adequate size. This can be adjusted and viewed by looking at the Microscope.

These are Cancer Cells This is the HIV/AIDS

The founding fathers of the microscope changed the world for ever we have accomplished so much that we never thought we would. Thanks to the vast improvements to the microscopes over the years we have been able to find out more about diseases and have been able to impregnate woman who never thought they would be able to have kids. We have giving children hope to live when they thought death is all that seeks them. We have fought AIDS, Cancer, and blood born diseases.