Early Days in Microscopy - MT2

Question 1

Aristophanes

Answer 1

His play clouds uses a burning lens (convex and thus capable of magnification) as a lot device

Question 2

Pliny

Answer 2

Physicians in Rome used burning lenses to create therapeutic burns
- a globe filled with water can magnify small objects

Question 3

Alhazen

Answer 3

A transparent sphere can produce an enlarged image, but no practical use for this is suggested
- he also describes how the lens of the eye produces an image on the retina

Question 4

What did Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon describe?

Answer 4

Telescopes

- Bacon describes eyeglasses, burning lenses and magnifiers

Question 5

When was the compound microscope invented?

Answer 5

1590

Question 6

Who invented the compound microscope? (3)

Answer 6

1. Hans Janssen
2. Zacharias Janssen
3. Hans Lippershey

Question 7

What 2 things does compound microscopes have?

Answer 7

1. Higher magnification than 1 lens magnifiers

2. More aberrations

Question 8

What do aberrations do?

Answer 8

They impair accurate viewing

Question 9

What did people who didnt trust microscopes think they were? (2)

Answer 9

1. Unnatural

2. Misleading

Question 10

What was the large leap with microscopes?

Answer 10

Imagination to accept that you could see thing with a tool that could not be seen from a human eye

Question 11

What did Robert Hooke do?

Answer 11

He set up a new microscope demonstration every week for the Royal Society’s meetings

Question 12

Who was the Royal Society?

Answer 12

They were the first people to be interested in science

Question 13

What did Marcell Malpighi of Bologna do?

Answer 13

Completed Harvey’s model of blood circulation was completed in structural terms
- he examined frog lungs and saw the capillary connections between arteries and veins

Question 14

What did Malpighi observe?

Answer 14

The early stages of embryological development in chickens through his microscope

Question 15

How does biological form develop? (2)

Answer 15

1. Epigeneticists

2. Preformationists

Question 16

Epigeneticists

Answer 16

Form developed from formlessness

- human egg/embryo was formless

Question 17

Preformationists

Answer 17

Form didnt develop, form grew

- believed little people existed in sperm

Question 18

What was Leeuwenhoek’s advantage to having a non-science background?

Answer 18

An independent mind

Question 19

What was Leeuwenhoek’s disadvantage to having a non-science background?

Answer 19

1. Lack of communication

2. Lack of training

Question 20

How did Leeuwenhoek make his lenses? (4)

Answer 20

1. Melted glass
2. Pulled the filaments
3. Broke it
4. Cooled it

Question 21

What did Leeuwenhoek discover?

Answer 21

Blood capillaries (independently but after Malpighi)

Question 22

What did Leeuwenhoek find when he was trying to discover why pepper was hot?

Answer 22

After incubation of pepper in water he found motile bacteria and protozoa

Question 23

What was Leeuwenhoek greatest achievement?

Answer 23

That motility meant life

Question 24

Generative cells

Answer 24

A medical student drew Leeuwenhoek’s attention to tiny motile cells he had seen in semen of a patient with gonorrhea
- Leeuwenhoek opposed the idea animacules

Question 25

Animacules

Answer 25

Tiny little sperm people

Question 26

Spontaneous generation

Answer 26

Leeuwenhoek doubted that corn in storage could spontaneously produce corn weevils and he followed corn weevil life cycle from egg to egg to disprove it

Question 27

What was Leeuwenhoek also interested in?

Answer 27

Lice

- he experimented on them by introducing them to his leg hair

Question 28

What did microscopy languish until the 19th century?

Answer 28

Leeuwenhoek refused to train students with microscopy

Question 29

How were compound microscopes fixed from aberrations?

Answer 29

They put a coating on the lenses in order to correct its viewing errors