Microscopy

Base

Supports microscope

parfocal

a special property of the microscope that allows you to move from one objective to another with only minimal adjustments of the fine focus knob once you have the image in focus

Arm

for carrying the microscope

Fine and coarse focusing knob

for focusing the specimen

Forward/backward and lateral stage motion knobs

for moving the slide with the specimen

Light source

lamp that illuminates specimen

low power objective

magnifies the specimen 10X for a total magnification of 100X

Resolving power (resolution)

the ability of the lenses to distinguish fine detail and structure.

field of view

the area or diameter of the specimen that is in view. The higher the magnification, the smaller the field of view

Refractive index

the bending of light passing through air between the objective lens and the slide

working distance

the distance between the specimen and the tip of the objective lens. In general, the higher the magnification, the shorter the working distance.

Diopter ring

For adjusting the focus to the users eyes

Revolving nosepiece

For rotating the objectives into viewing position

Iris diaphragm

Controls the amount of light that passes through the condenser lens

Compound microscope

Have 2 lenses between the eye and the object. The light passes through the objective lens (lens #1) and the ocular lens (lens #2)

Condensor

Lens that condenses the light before it passes through the specimen

Bright field microscope

the object being observed is dark in a bright field

depth of field

the thickness of the object that is simultaneously in focus. The higher the power of magnification , the less in depth of focus

Total magnification

total magnification of both lenses, the objective lens X ocular lens. The ocular eyepiece usually magnifies the image 10X, and the objectives magnify the image 4X, 10X, 40X and 100X. For example, when using the 40X objective and a 10X ocular, the total magnification would be: 40*10=400. Total magnification is objective * eyepiece.

Numerical aperture

used to determine the efficiency of the condenser and objective. The larger the numerical aperture, the brighter and better resolved the image.

high-dry objective

40X, the objective used for higher magnification without oil

scanning objective lens

4X the objective used to see the greatest field of view at the lowest magnification. To use for the initial searching over a wide area. Notice that the lowest power objectives have the shortest tubes

Objectives

4X, 10X, 40X, and 100X lens that magnify the specimen

oil immersion objective

100X, the objective used for the highest magnification with oil.

Width adjustment

Adjusts distance between ocular lenses to match the distance between eyes of viewer

Daylight filter

Blue filter that provides a short wavelength for maximum resolution

Eyepiece

Magnifies the object 10X (this mixroscope is binocular because it contains 2 ocular lenses)

Stage

Platform that holds the microscope slide and slide holder