Ordinary professional microscopes use optical lenses, which somewhat limits their functionality. Nevertheless, it is precisely such simple devices that are mostly presented on the market for these devices. For more advanced purposes, professional electron microscopes are now available that use more advanced magnification technology and display the image on a computer screen.
The importance of this apparatus for modern science cannot be overestimated. With its help, many new bacteria, microorganisms, viruses were discovered, numerous physical laws were tested regarding the molecular and atomic aspects of the material world, etc.
Alternatives
Alternatives to optical devices that do not use visible light include scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron andscanning probing.
Regular
A typical professional microscope uses a lens or set of lenses to magnify an object with only angular amplification, giving the viewer a vertical virtual image. The use of a single convex lens or groups of lenses can be found in simple devices such as magnifying glasses, loupes and eyepieces for telescopes and professional laboratory microscopes.
Combined
This type of microscope uses one of the lenses (usually a third) next to the object to collect light around it. It focuses the real image inside the microscope. It is then magnified using a second lens or group of lenses (called an eyepiece), which allows the viewer to see an inverted virtual version of the object. Using a combination of objective/eyepiece allows you to significantly increase it. Professional biological microscopes of this kind often have interchangeable lenses allowing the user to quickly adjust the magnification. The combination microscope also provides more advanced illumination settings such as phase contrast.
Stereo
A stereo, stereoscopic or dissecting microscope is a variant of an optical microscope designed for low magnification observation of a specimen, typically using light reflected from the surface of an object rather than transmitted through it. The device uses 2 separate optical paths with two lenses and eyepieces to provide slightly different viewing angles in the left and right eyes.
This layout givesthree-dimensional visualization of the test sample. Stereomicroscopy overrides macro photography for capturing and examining solid specimens with complex surface topography where 3D representation is required for detail analysis.
The stereomicroscope is often used to examine surfaces of solid specimens or for related applications such as dissection, microsurgery, watchmaking, circuit board fabrication, and inspection of crack surfaces, both in fractography and forensics. Thus, they are widely used in the manufacturing industry or for production, raw material composition and quality control. Stereo microscopes are important tools in entomology.
Stereomicroscope should not be confused with a composite analogue equipped with double eyepieces and binoveaver. In such a professional microscope, both eyes see the same image, with two eyepieces serving to provide greater viewing comfort. However, the image in such a device is no different from the imaging obtained using a single monocular device.
Comparative
Comparative microscope is a device used for side-by-side analysis. It consists of two microscopes connected by an optical bridge, resulting in a split-view window allowing two separate objects to be viewed at the same time. This makes it possible for the observer not to rely on memory when comparing two objects under a normal device. This kind of devicefound among professional medical microscopes.
An inverted microscope (inverted) is an apparatus with a light source and a capacitor on top, above the "stage" located below, that is, samples are examined through the bottom of the laboratory container. It was invented in 1850 by J. Lawrence Smith, an instructor at Tulane University (then called Louisiana Medical College).
Intermediate
The Intermediate Professional Microscope is an instrument for measuring in the horizontal plane with a resolution of typically around 0.01mm. The accuracy is such that higher quality instruments have measuring scales made by Invar to avoid misreading due to thermal effects.
The instrument consists of a microscope mounted on two rails attached to a very rigid base. The position of the microscope can be changed significantly by sliding along the rails, or minimally by turning the screw. The eyepiece is equipped with precise crosshairs to fix the optimal position, which is then read from the vernier scale.
Some instruments, such as British professional microscopes built in the 1960s, also measure vertically. The purpose of a microscope is to target reference marks with much greater precision than is possible with the naked eye. It is used in laboratories to measure the refractive index of liquids usinggeometric concepts of ray optics.
It is also used to measure very short distances, such as the diameter of a capillary tube. This mechanical tool has now been largely replaced by electronic and optical measuring devices that are more accurate and cost significantly less to produce.
Travel (portable)
The travel microscope consists of a Vee-top surface-treated cast iron base and is equipped with three adjustment screws. A metal cart attached to a spring-loaded rod slides with the attached vernier and reading lens along an inlaid metal scale strip. The latter is divided into half a millimeter. All adjustments are made with a micrometer screw for accurate readings.
The microscope tube consists of 10x eyepieces and 15mm or 50mm or 75mm targets. The microscope with mounting gear is mounted on a vertical slide, which also works with an attached vertical scale vernier.
The device is free to rotate on a vertical plane. The vertical guide beam is connected to the horizontal microscope carriage. For holding objects, a horizontal stage is provided in the base, made of a milky monolithic sheet (polycarbonate).
Petrographic
A petrographic microscope is a type of optics used in petrology and optical mineralogy to identify rocks and minerals in thin sections. Microscopeused in petrography, a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. The technique is called polarized light microscopy (PLM).
Depending on the level of observation required, petrological microscopes are made from conventional field devices with similar basic capabilities. The use of this professional soldering microscope is widespread.
Phase contrast microscopy
It is an optical microscopy technique that converts phase shifts in light passing through a transparent sample into changes in image brightness. Phase shifts are invisible on their own, but become visible when they are shown as a change in brightness.
This process is often done with professional mounting microscopes. When light waves cross a space other than vacuum, the interaction with the medium leads to a change in the amplitude and phase of the wave, depending on the properties of the medium. Changes in amplitude (brightness) are due to the scattering and absorption of light, which is often wavelength dependent and can result in colors. Photographic equipment and the human eye are only sensitive to changes in amplitude. Thus, without special devices, phase changes are invisible. Nevertheless, such studies often contain important information.
Phase contrast microscopy is especially important in biology. It shows many cellular structures that are not visible with a simpler microscope withbright field, as shown in the figure. These structures were previously visible to microscopists by staining, but this required additional preparation, which led to the destruction of the cells.
The phase contrast microscope has enabled biologists to study living cells and how they proliferate through their division. After its invention in the early 1930s, phase contrast microscopy proved to be such an advance in science that its inventor, Fritz Zernike, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1953.
Fluorescent
A fluorescence microscope is an optical apparatus that uses fluorescence and phosphorescence instead of or in addition to scattering, reflection and attenuation or absorption to study the properties of organic or inorganic substances.
This type of optic refers to any microscope that uses fluorescence to generate an image, whether it be a simpler setup like an epifluorescence device or a more complex design like a confocal that uses optical separation to better resolve the fluorescent image. These devices are often used as replacements for professional digital microscopes.
