Glossary: ( In Conceptual Order)(Below are a few of some of the most commonly used words in microscopy.)
Simple & Compound Microscopes -
Microscopes can either be simple or compound. Simple microscopes, as those used by early microscopists, such as Anton van Leeuwenhoek in the 18th century, use a single lens to magnify an image while compound microscopes use multiple lenses.
Magnification -By increasing an image's size, a microscope allows the observer to view details too small to be seen with the human eye. The degree of this increase is known as its magnification. A compound microscope's magnification is achieved through its ocular(s) and objectives. The magnification of an image being viewed under a microscope can be found by multiplying the power of its oculars by the particular objective being used.
"X"The letter "X" is used to represent "times" in microscopy. An image that has been magnified by forty times, for example, can be written as "40X."
Field of View -The field of view is the area that can be seen through a microscope.
Depth of Field & Depth of Focus -
The depth of field is the depth or deepness of the field of view. The depth of focus is the distance over which an object's image remains sharp.
Resolution -A microscope's resolution is its ability to differentiate or distinguish between two separate objects in its field of view. More specifically, a microscope's resolution is the numerical distance between two distinct points in the field of view. (In other words, resolution refers to the clarity of your image.)
Empty Magnification -Empty magnification is a state where increasing the magnification contributes no meaning to the image of a specimen.
Specimen -Specimens refer to the living or non-living samples observed under a microscope. Specimens are usually prepared for microscopy on thin, rectangular glass slides or round petri dishes.
Slide -Slides are small, thin, rectangular sheets of glass used to mount specimens for observation under a microscope.
Whole Mount -Whole mounts describe specimens that are not being observed in pieces or sections.
Section -Sections are slices of specimens used for observing details that cannot be seen in a whole mount. Sections can be made transversal, longitudinal (lengthwise), or oblique (at an angle).
Working Distance -The working distance is the distance between the objective and the slide.
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Anatomy of a Compound Light Microscope:
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"By the help of Microscopes, there is nothing so small, as to escape our inquiry; hence there is a new visable World discovered to the understanding."
-Robert Hooke