Microscope
INTRODUCTION:-
Microscope is an optical instrument composed of a system of lenses that
magnifies the image of an object.
PARTS OF A COMPOUND MICROSCOPE:-
Two types of compound microscopes are in use.
a) Monocular
b) Binocular
MONOCULAR:-
It has only one eyepiece
BINOCULAR:-
It has two eyepieces.
The parts of a compound microscope can be discussed under four main heads:
i. The Support system.
ii. The Illumination system.
iii. The adjustment system.
iv. The magnification system.
THE SUPPORT SYSTEM:
Base:
The base supports the microscope and is horse-shoe shaped to give the maximum
stability to the microscope.
Arm:-
The arm supports the magnifying and adjusting systems. It acts as a handle by which the
microscope can be carried without damaging, the delicate parts.
Body tube:-
It is the part through which light passes to the eyepiece. The length of the tube is
usually 160mm. This is the tube that actually conducts image.
Stage:-
It is the horizontal platform on which the object (or) specimen is placed. It has calibrated
scale and a spring mounted clip to hold the slide.
Aperture:-
It is the hole in the stage that allows the light through for illuminating the object.
THE ILLUMINATION SYSTEM:-
A microscope cannot function optimally without proper
illumination system. The illumination provides a uniform and bright illumination of the entire
field viewed under the microscope.
Source of illumination:-
This uses white light, either external sunlight (or) internal tungsten filament or
halogen lamp, as source of illumination.
Condenser:-
This is made up of two simple lenses and it condenses light on to the object.
THE ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM:
Coarse adjustment:-
This has two bigger knobs, the movement of which moves the stage up
& down.
Fine adjustment:-
This has two smaller knobs on either side of body. The fine focus is
graduated and by each division the objective moves by 0.002 mm.
Iris diaphragm:-
This regulates the amount of light that passes through the condenser to the
objectl under observation.
THE MAGNIFICATION SYSTEM:-
The magnification power of the microscope is the degree of
enlargement of the image. It depends on
i) Length of optical tube.
ii) Magnifying power of objective lens.
iii) Magnifying power of eyepiece lens.
Magnification power = Magnifying power of objective lens x Magnifying power of
eyepiece lens.
Resolving power:-
It represents the capacity of the optical system to produce separate images
of objects very close to each other.
Resolving power (R) = 0.6 λ
NA
λ → Wavelength of incident light
NA → Numerical aperture of lens.
Eyepieces:-
Eye piece has two Planoconcave lenses. Their magnification can be 5X, 10X, 15X.
Objective lens:-
These are made of a battery of lenses with prisms incorporated in them. Their
magnification power is 4x, 10x, 40x and 100x.
DARK-FIELD MICROSCOPE:-
A special dark – field condenser is used that lights up the object, like
stars against a dark sky.
USES:-
Observation of unstained and stained organisms of specimen
To demonstrate the motility of organism by using hanging drop preparation.
FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE:-
This uses a special ultraviolet lamp as the source of illumination.
A fluorescent dye is tagged to the object through laboratory procedures, which glows when
exposed to UV light.
CARE AND PROPER HANDLING OF THE MICROSCOPE:
Keep the microscope clean and dry.
Don’t touch any of the lens with your finger.
Store the device in a clean dry box or cabinet, usually with some kind of plastic dust
cover.
First view under the lower power objective lens, then bring the specimen into focus by
coarse adjustment screw. After that if you want to get more magnified view then rotate
the nose piece to high power objective lens and then bring specimen into the focus by
fine adjustment screw.
When using the high power objective lens be very careful when focusing not to drive
the head of the lens into the cover clip or slide. Always visually adjust the head of the
lens about 1mm (or) so above cover slip then looking through the eye-piece, use the
“fine” focus control to bring the image into sharp focus.
Never remove the slide from the stage when it is focused under the oil immersion
objective, without lowering the stage.
When you are observing a specimen under a microscope do not tilt its body.
Don’t leave slide, sample, and cover slip on the microscope stage for extended periods
of time.
The microscope lenses must be cleaned by lens paper or soft cloth after each use.
Xylene can be used as a solvent for removing the oil over the lens.
When moving your microscope from place to place in the lab, use one hand to grip the
microscope while supporting it at the base with your other hand. This avoids accidental
fall and damage to the instrument.
Turn the power off when the microscope isn’t actually in use.
