For an aspiring microbiologist, it is very important to understand the types of microscopes and their uses. The following article will cover some information related to the kinds of microscopes and their uses that help one see specimens that are not visible by the naked eye.
The weapon for a microbiologist is his microscope. Without a microscope; microbiologists, clinical researchers, scientists, etc. are lost. The microscope is an important part of a biology lab that helps one observe specimen that are impossible for the naked human eye to see. Microscopes help magnify objects 1000x their size and study a biological specimen in detail. The most important tool that helps in performing various experiments, studies, clinical trails and industrial applications is a microscope. There are many different types of microscopes and their uses vary according to the type.
Microscopes have played an important part in the field of science. Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a Dutch tradesman and scientist should be credited for the invention of this magic instrument. His crude microscope helped detect invisible animalcules, that is single-celled organisms. This bought the attention of many scholars towards the field of microbiology. Thus, began the search for bacteria, virus, fungi, protozoa as well as the recent discovery of DNA. This proves that microscopes are the most important tools for any scientist in not just the field of life sciences, but also useful in chemistry, metallurgy and many other scientific fields. In this ScienceStruck article, we shall learn about some of the different kinds of microscopes and their uses in short. So, without wasting more time, let us begin our quest to know more about microscopes and their uses.
The following list contains some of the most widely used microscopes.
Different Kinds of Microscopes and their Uses |
Micro-objects are magnified manifold by microscopes as you will understand from the microscope diagram and functions. There have been major discoveries due to different types of microscopes used in biology. Some of the commonly used microscopes are as follows: Light Microscope The light microscope is also called the optical microscope. This is also a type of compound microscope that is used to view microorganisms. The light microscope has different lens that help magnify images of the microorganism or specimens loaded on the stage. The eyepieces have a magnification power of 10x or 16x. The light microscopes are the types of microscopes used in anatomy and physiology to observe small animals, plants, metal samples, and microorganisms like bacteria in detail. The light microscope can magnify a specimen about 1500x and used in many areas of biology, anatomy and physiology. This microscope uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify the images of the samples manifold. The basic type of optical or light microscopes is very simple. However, many complex designs have been invented that helps give better resolution images. Thus, light microscopes have been divided into two different configurations: simple microscope (one lens) and compound microscope. Simple Microscope Compound Microscope These microscopes are heavier and larger than simple microscopes. These microscopes collect the light from the sample with the help of multiple lenses. A separate set of lenses is used to focus the light into the eye (or camera) to form an image. There are different types of compound microscopes. Some of the basic types are discussed below: Standard Compound Light Microscope Inverted Microscope Stereo Microscope Metallurgical Microscope UV Microscope Fluorescence Microscope Digital Microscope Apart from these light or optical microscopes, there are other microscopes that are categorized based on the lighting techniques. Some of these microscopes are mentioned below: Dark-field Microscope Phase Contrast Microscope |
Electron Microscope The electron microscope (EM) is one of the most advanced microscopes used today. This microscope is powered by a beam of electrons with very short wavelengths. These electrons strike objects that come in its path and helps increase the resolution of the microscope. The electron microscope is one of the types of microscopes used to study cells like tiny viral cells as well as larger molecules. There are different types of electron microscopes that are explained below: Transmission Electron Microscope Scanning Electron Microscope Reflection Electron Microscope |
The different parts of a microscope help determine the magnification power of a microscope. There are many other types, that are not mentioned here. The ones mentioned above are some of the most commonly used types of microscopes to study cells and other specimens.