Facts About Microscopes

Microscopes enable humans to go beyond the naked eye's limits of vision. Using microscopes to study specimens of all sizes -- some even as minute as atoms -- helps everyone from students to top scientists and doctors better understand the workings of the natural world.

History

• In about 1020 A.D., the Iraqi Muslim physicist Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) described a forerunner of the microscope, the magnifying glass in his tome "Kitâb al-Manâzir" (the Book of Optics). By the 1200s, scientists had developed spectacles, and in about 1590 spectacle makers Hans Jansen and his son Sacharias were credited with inventing the compound microscope.

  Spectacles were developed during the 1200s, and in approximately 1590, spectacle-makers Hans Jansen and his son Sacharias invented the compound microscope.

  Today, there are many different kinds of microscopes, including light microscopes and electron microscopes. Scientists continue to make technological advances to perfect the microscope.

Function

• The basic function of a microscope is to magnify objects that are difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye. Some microscopes, such as dissecting microscopes, allow objects such as insects or bullets to been seen in more detail. Other microscopes, such as electron microscopes, allow for the visualization and study of organisms as tiny as viruses.

Significance

• Microscopes have played very important roles in a number of discoveries. For example, microscopes are commonly used in forensics to match a bullet to a gun. They are used to examine cells to look for the presence of diseases such as cancer. Microscopes can be used to examine the finer details and structures of small organisms, such as the eye of an insect. They can also be used to determine the basic structures of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. Microscopes can also be used to study metals and other nonliving specimens.

Common Types of Microscopes

• The most commonly-used microscopes are light microscopes. Dissecting microscopes are a type of light microscope that have an external light source to reflect light off the object being studied. They are used to examine small specimens such as insects. Compound microscopes transmit light through the specimen and can be used to study cells.

Other Types of Microscopes

• Electron microscopes use electrons, as opposed to light, to study specimens. Electron microscopes can be used to visualize extremely small objects such as the outer covering of a cell. Atomic force microscopes can be used to study the surface of structures by measuring the atomic forces the surface exerts.