How to Use a Microscope

Have you ever wondered why your fruit got rotten so early or why your most loved plant has deteriorated and eventually died? Well! We come across numerous intriguing questions in our everyday life and wish to have the answer immediately. Millions of mysterious things present in our surroundings possess unique characteristics and carry out biological processes that we can’t resist diving deep into.

Various technologies by scientists are serving to assess some of these fascinating creatures and get answers to our all-possible curiosities in today’s time.

One of these incredible inventions is the microscope, which rests on the top of the page in helping humans in their daily processes.

Microscopes are one of the most antiquated yet widely used optical instruments that are the pride of every laboratory. You might have come across a microscope at least once in life and inevitably be mesmerized by its excellent capabilities. How a tiny piece of stone can be viewed pretty clearly and in a precise way by distinguishing its every constituent entirely.

Microscopes are now used in every field of life; it’s not only limited to biological labs and scientific experiments but are a common need of every person who is intrigued to explore such mysterious things in their environment. Toddlers and youngsters love to own and explore microscopes as that’s the core time when one loves investigating different objects and being fascinated about what’s inside them. This is why you can find microscopes for preschoolers and school going children.

What is a Microscope?

A microscope is an optical instrument that uses its different ocular parts to give a scrupulous view of smaller objects, cells of various living organisms, etc. It produces enlarged and magnified images of the specimens that are not visible to our naked eye. Numerous scientists, students, forensic pathologists, and doctors have excelled in their fields and given helpful theories by using this incredible instrument.

Where are Microscopes used?

Microscopes have been excellent assistance for decades in evaluating significant plant tissues, getting an in-depth view of human organ cells, accessing unicellular bacteria/microorganisms, investigating different blood samples, and whatnot. A microscope never fails to get you your desired results and clears your concepts regarding this earth’s obscure objects.

Types of Microscopes

There are dozens of useful microscopes present in the microscopy world, each one specialized for its specific function and benefits offered. The most common types of microscopes that serve the general purpose of giving a comprehensive view of the object and are used by millions of users all around the globe are light and electron microscopes. Both are pretty different in the results they provide but quite similar in working.

Hence, we will discuss an electron microscope’s basic working, which operates the same as a light or a compound microscope except for the electron beam.

How to use a Microscope?

Using a microscope is an exciting process. Once you’ve learned it, you will then love examining every other thing on your microscope. However many students and other users fail to get their ultimate microscopy results as they miss important details or tips while using their microscope. Get the right student microscope to ensure that you don’t be the one.

We will also guide you thoroughly and share some useful tips to ace your microscopy use. Read it carefully and make sure you’re not missing out on anything from the article.

Parts of a Microscope

A microscope comprises a very robust yet simple body with many different parts attached to it, which efficiently carries out specific microscopy. Your microscopy cannot be completed, or you’ll not achieve satisfactory results if any one of these vital components is missing from your microscope. So have an insight into these microscope parts and their pivotal functions.

Structural Parts

• Head: This is the topmost prominent part, and it holds all the eyepieces and oculars.
• Base: It gives support to the whole body and carries microscopic illuminators.
• Arms: It allows microscope versatility and connects the base with the arm for holding purposes.

Optical Parts

• Eyepiece lens: Present at the top and magnify specimens up to 10 times combing with the objective lens magnification.
• Objective lens: There is 3 or 4 objective lenses present in a general microscope, usually of low (4x), medium (10x), and high (40x) magnification power that can easily be switched.
• Nose piece: A forward-facing part holds objective lenses and is used for rotation to change power.
• The adjustment knobs: Coarse focus knobs and fine focus knobs help move the stage and do small increments.
• Diaphragm: Located below the stage, it controls the light reaching the specimen and adjusts the light intensity with an Abbe condenser.
• Mechanical stage: A place where we place the specimen and do microscopy, hold the slides by stage clips, and allow the slides’ manual movement.

Step by Step Process of Using Microscope

1. The first crucial step is to clean every lens with a lens cleaning paper for a clear view of the specimen.
2. Then, put your desired specimen on the slide carefully with the help of forceps.
3. Mount your slide by pouring a drop of water on the specimen and quickly cover it with a coverslip. Make sure it doesn’t catch air bubbles, if it does, follow this bubble removing guide, or else you’ll get a blurred image result.
4. Now put your slide on the stage, secure it with stage clips, and start with a low-power objective.
5. Bring the stage at its maximum length on the upward side, get your glance on the eyepiece, and then adjust the coarse adjustment knob accordingly to bring the image into focus.
6. Use a diaphragm to control the light and grab maximum light approaching your specimen for better results.
7. It’s the right time to center your specimen and move towards medium power, repeating the previous steps.
8. Take a check on the focal length (distance between the slide and the lens) to prevent your glass side from cracking up.
9. Focus and center at every step and adjust the magnification as per your need.
10. After the microscopy, dispose of the coverslip, clean or wash the slides, and bring the stage to its original position. Hold the microscope by arm and base and cover it entirely for future use.

Final Verdict

This is among the most essential and productive procedures for a beginner microscope user. You will eventually progress in your microscopy lessons through practice and thorough learning.

We hope you’ll work according to the guidelines mentioned here on using a microscope and get good results in your microscopy lessons.