Microscopy Flashcards
What are the different parts of a microscope
- Eyepiece or Ocular lens:
An eyepiece is a magnifying lens attached to the microscope which helps in magnifying the sample object. It is called an eyepiece as we need to place our eye near it in order to see the magnifying image of the sample.
- Body Tube:
A body tube is an integral part of the microscope as it holds the eye piece and connects it to the objective.
- Arm:
The arm is the part of microscope that connects to the base and helps carry the microscope easily. One can hold the arm with on hand and put another hand under the base of the microscope so that it can be carried easily.
- Base:
The base is the bottom part of the microscope, usually made up of durable material as it supports the microscope to stand and provides stability. The base is very important as stability is very important to gain accurate results. With an unstable base, the results may not be as accurate as we require.
- Illuminator:
An illuminator is a source of light usually situated at the bottom/ base of the microscope. It is a low voltage halogen bulb of about 110 volts to provide steady light to the sample in order to facilitate the experiment/study.
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- Stage:
A stage is an indispensable part of the microscope. It is a flat surface where the slide with the specimen is placed. A mechanical stage is a stage used when working with higher magnifications. It is moved by using knobs as even the slightest moment can affect the results.
- Stage Clip:
Stage clips are used to hold the slides in place in the absence of a mechanical stage. It is used in comparatively simpler experiments. But even in simpler experiments, the movement of slides is crucial hence stage clips are used to provide stability to the slides.
- Revolving Nosepiece or Turret:
A nosepiece is the part of the microscope which holds two or more objectives simultaneously to provide various magnifications in order to view the same specimen in various dimensions.
- Objective lens:
Objective lens is the part of microscope responsible for magnifying the image of specimen. Usually there are three objective lenses in a standard microscope of 10X, 40X and 100X. Depending upon the aim of study and nature of the specimen, the most suitable objective lens can be brought to use.
- Rack Stop:
It is a part of the microscope responsible for adjusting and determining the distance between the objective lens and the specimen. It is very important as it avoids the ramming of objective lens into the slide, which can result in destroying the slide and specimen. - Condenser Lens:
The function of the condenser lens is to collect the light from the illuminator and focus it on the specimen. A microscope with a condenser provides with a sharper and clearer image than a microscope without a condenser.
- Diaphragm or Iris:
The diaphragm is used to control the amount of light reaching the specimen. In a student scope it is a rotating disk under the stage and above the condenser. There are various holes in the diaphragm in order to facilitate the variants in the experiments carried on.
- Coarse adjustment knob:
A coarse adjustment knob is a knob present on the arm of a microscope. The main function of this knob is to move the specimen back or forth to adjust the slide containing specimen in order to bring it to focus and show the best image possible. The coarse adjustment should be carefully moved and adjusted to attain desired results.
- Fine Adjustment Knob:
This knob is a sub part of the Coarse adjustment knob. It is used to bring the specimen into sharp focus.
- Power Switch:
A Power switch is an electrical switch present at the bottom of the microscope in order to switch of the light source i.e., the illuminator. At times the researcher/user does not require the light from illuminator. In such a case, the power switch can be used to turn off the illuminator.
- Low Power Objective:
Low Power objective is a short length objective, most widely used in the microscopes to view slides. Usually the experiments carried, use low power objective until the study of the specimen is very specific. Also due to the short length of the objective, it avoids ramming into the slide and protecting it from breaking.
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- High Power Objective:
High power objective, also known as high-dry objective is used to study a specimen in very fine and detailed manner. It is a bit longer in length than the low power objective and needs to be handled with care.
- Specimen on the Glass slide:
A glass slide is a thin and flat piece of glass used in the microscope. The specimen is kept on the glass slide and put under the objective in order to study it. A typical glass slide is of dimensions 75x 26mm and about 1 mm thick. The specimen on the glass slide is further covered with a very thin and smaller sheet of glass called a cover slip so that the specimen doesn’t spill on the glass slide.
- Aperture:
Aperture is a small hole in the stage through which the light is transmitted and passed on to the slide.
What are the different zoom levels.
Most educational-quality microscopes have a 10x (10-power magnification) eyepiece and three objectives of 4x, 10x and 40x to provide magnification levels of 40x, 100x and 400x. Magnification of 400x is the minimum needed for studying cells and cell structure.
Resolution.
The ability to see between two points.
IAM triangle
Image=magnification x actual size
Magnification = image / actual size
Actual size = image/ magnification
Magnification
How far the image can be zoomed in
Look at different conversions in front of book.
Front of book.
