Micro Scopes

A microscope is for viewing objects that are too little to be seen by the independent eye. The science of investigating little objects using such an instrument is called microscopy. The term 'microscopic' means miniature or very little, not able to be seen with the eye unless helped by a microscope. Microscopes trace their history back almost 1200 years. The first microscope was made around 1595 in Middelburg, Holland. Three different eyeglass makers have been given credit for the invention: Hans Lippershey; Hans Janssen; and his son, Zacharias. The most common type of microscope—and the first to be invented—is the optical microscope.

How They Work

A microscope does the same thing as a refracting telescope - light waves being bent as they travel through glass. In a telescope, the idea is to bend light from very far-off objects into a small focus at the eye. In a microscope, the idea is to bend light into a parallel path, then bend that light into focus of the eye.

Light enters the base, travels through the lenses and then through the eyepiece.

The power of the microscope depends on how much each lens bends the light. Usually, the power is written right on the microscope itself. 40 x, for instance, means that the image at the eyepiece is 40 times larger than real life.