Simple Microscope: Inventions, Parts, Principles, Magnification, Image Formed, Experiments and Uses

Simple Microscope Overview

We've seen a wide range of laboratory equipment utilized for a variety of objectives. To observe the object/specimen clearly and magnifiedly, a basic microscope is utilized. 

What is a Simple Microscope?

A basic microscope, like a magnifying glass, employs a single lens for magnification, but a compound microscope uses numerous lenses to increase the magnification of an item. It employs a lens to magnify an item solely through angular magnification, providing the observer with an erect enlarged virtual picture. Simple magnification devices such as magnifying glasses, loupes, and eyepieces for telescopes and microscopes employ a single convex lens or groups of lenses. It is essentially a convex lens with a short focal length that is used to observe magnified pictures of tiny things.

Inventions of Simple Microscope

A simple microscope is used to observe an enlarged image of an item. The first primitive microscope, built by a Dutchman named Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, consisted of a small single high-powered converging lens for examining freshwater bacteria. This was the foundation of the light microscope principle.

Parts of Simple Microscope

The mechanical components support the optical components and help them adapt for object focussing. They are made up of the following components-

1. Metal Base: It has a strong base plate and a vertical rod. The metal stand supports and stabilizes the microscope's other parts.
2. Stage: A rectangular metal plate mounted to a vertical rod is referred to as a stage. The stage's role is to provide a platform for examining the specimen.
3. The base: It is the basic microscope's bottom part. This section provides assistance for the microscope.
4. Stage clips: They are used to secure the stage of a simple microscope. They help in the retention of specimen slides.
5. Adjustment screw: An adjustment screw is used to fine-tune the specimen's focus.

Optical Components

Using ray optics, the optical components help in magnification and specimen viewing. This section contains the following elements, which are as follows-

1. Mirror: A plano-convex mirror is fastened to the vertical rod via a frame beneath the stage. The primary function is to guide ambient light towards the thing being examined. 
2. Lens: A biconvex lens is linked to the vertical rod by a frame above the stage in simple microscopes. It enlarges the item's size, and the resulting enlarged virtual image is experienced by hovering the eye over it.

A contemporary simple microscope contains the following components-

1. Eyepiece: The eyepiece is a collection of lenses at the top of the microscope that allows you to see the samples. It has a magnifying power range of 10X to 15X.
2. Tube: A tube links the eyepiece to the ocular lens.
3. Revolving Nose-Piece: The turret, also known as the revolving nose-piece, holds the objective lenses and may spin during the sample inspection.
4. Fine Adjustment Knob: This knob is used to zero in on the lubrication.

Principles of Simple Microscope

A basic microscope is made out of a single lens known as a loupe. The most common modern example is a reading or magnifying glass. Higher-magnification lenses today are frequently manufactured with two glass components that generate a color-corrected picture. They are packed in a cylindrical shape that may be worn around the neck and held directly in front of the eye. These are commonly known as eye loupes or jewelers' lenses. The old basic microscope consisted of a single magnifying lens of adequate optical quality to observe microscopical species such as Hydra and protists.

Working on a Simple Microscope

As we all know, a basic microscope is used to magnify materials and is commonly employed in microbiology. Light from the light source is forced to travel through a thin, transparent object. A biconvex lens is used to magnify a virtual picture. The lens must be near the sample for increased magnification and resolution. Contrast may be found by inspecting the sample's details. This is accomplished by staining the sample. To achieve contrast in the image, the size and intensity of the light beam can be adjusted using a condenser or a diaphragm.

Magnification of Simple Microscope

Because a basic microscope just has one objective lens, its magnification power is severely limited. In practice, most low-cost microscopes have a magnification power of just 10x. For a simple microscope, the magnifying power equation is as follows-

M = 1+ D/F

Where,

D is the shortest distance between unique visions.

F denotes the convex lens's focal length.

The magnification formula of a basic microscope states that the shorter the focal length of the lens used, the larger the magnifying power of the microscope's lens.

Image Formed by Simple Microscope

A light beam from the object (source) passes through the lens's center of curvature (C). Another light beam passes through the lens's focus, which is placed on the other side of the lens's main axis. The end product is a vertical, magnified, and virtual picture. As a result, a convex lens may be used as a basic microscope.

Read more about the Image Formed by Convex Lens.

Simple Microscope Experiments

Aim: To create a basic microscope out of water.

Apparatus Required: A cup of water, the fuse wire, and the viewing object (newspaper works well because of its fine print)

Procedure: 

Make a loop with a 2 mm broad wire and immerse it in water. To get an enlarged view of the item, hold the drop created within the loop as close to the eye as feasible.

Conclusion: 

This technique is comparable to the pioneers of early microscopes, who magnified objects with small glass globules of water. The water droplet takes on the form of a convex lens, which refracts and converges light to the point where it can be seen clearly. Modern microscopes are made up of multiple lenses and can see incredibly small things thanks to the invention of the technology of grinding glass.

Uses of Simple Microscope

The following are some of the uses of a simple microscope-

1. A dermatologist uses it to diagnose various skin conditions.
2. It's employed in pedology (the study of soil particles).
3. It is used in microbiology to investigate samples of algae, fungi, and other microorganisms.
4. Jewelers use it to acquire a magnified view of the fine elements of the jewelry.

Read more about the Uses of Microscope.

Difference between Simple and Compound Microscope

The following table gives the details about the differences between single and compound microscopes-

Read more about the Plane Mirror and Concave Mirror.

Points to Remember

1. A basic microscope's magnifying power formula is M = 1 + D/F, where D is the shortest distance of distinct vision and F is the focal length of the convex lens.
2. A compound microscope, on the other hand, includes several adjusting screws.
3. A microscope is a laboratory tool that magnifies microscopic objects to make them visible to the naked eye that would have been undetectable without the use of a microscope.
4. The light is focused on the sample using a condenser, and 400X power lenses are utilized to zoom in on the specimen to a much greater degree.
5. The magnifying power may be increased to 300 times.
6. One significant distinction between a simple microscope and a complex microscope is that a simple microscope has just one adjustment screw. 
7. A convex lens with a short focal length is widely utilized in the field of microbiology and is employed in the mechanism of a basic microscope.

Sample Questions Related to Simple Microscope

Sample Question 1: Who invented the word "microscope?"

Ans. For the first time, Giovanni Faber invented the term "microscope."

Sample Question 2: What type of image does a magnifying glass produce? 

Ans. A magnifying glass creates a virtual picture. 

Sample Question 3: What was the first popular type of microscope? 

Ans. The optical microscope was the first widely available equipment used to further our scientific understanding of life. It refracts visible light that has passed through a thinly sectioned material using lenses to form a viewable picture.

Sample Question 4: What led to the invention of microscopes? 

Ans. Robert Hooke's discovery of cells and subsequent publishing sparked a surge in interest in microbes. As a consequence, the current light microscope was invented and discovered.

Sample Question 5: What exactly is a compound microscope? 

Ans. A compound microscope is one with many lenses. A compound microscope is made up of many lenses and two optical elements known as the objective lens and eyepiece or ocular lens.

Sample Question 6: Write two applications for a basic microscope.

Ans. Doctors use simple microscopes to examine samples. It's also employed in Pedology (the study of soil particles).

Sample Question 7: What exactly is a compound microscope?

Ans. A compound microscope is one with many lenses. A compound microscope is made up of many lenses and two optical elements known as the objective lens and eyepiece or ocular lens.

Sample Question 8: How many different types of microscopes are there?

Ans. Although the basic microscope is the most often used instrument in classrooms and laboratories, additional microscopes such as electron, ultraviolet, interference, scanning probe, fluorescence, and compound microscope are also available.

Sample Question 9: Who invented the first microscope?

Ans. The first basic microscope in history was created by a Dutch scientist named Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek.