Microscope Techniques

This Article mainly focuses in the techniques in handling a compound light microscope. Proper handling makes us familiar with the use of this microscope for biology and other experiments. The Compound light microscope is the best tool a biologist could ever have. We are all aware that without this tool, discoveries and experiments in the field of biology won’t be achieved. Each type of microscope has its own specification and when it comes to compound light microscopes the main purpose would be seeing biological micro organisms.

Proper handling of the microscopes is also discussed, when carrying the compound light microscope make sure that you carry it with both hands. The other hand is holding the base while the other hand holds the arm. This will prevent the microscope from dropping, Microscope is a fragile instrument and if it is not properly handled there is a tendency that the compound light microscope will be out of alignment. It is not advised to carry two microscopes at the same time, because this will only damage the microscopes if you mishandle them.

Before you proceed on your laboratory experiment you must always check if the compound light microscope is functioning. The first thing you have to do is to make sure that the microscope is clean. If the microscope is not cleaned well and there are some oil residue on the lenses, clean it first before you proceed. Wipe the objectives with the proper microscope cleaner. Do not use tissue when cleaning the lenses and the objectives because this will leave some tiny particles that will blur the image of the specimen.

The next thing to check is the parts of the microscopes make sure that all the parts are there and they function accordingly. If there is a missing part or part that is not functioning, have it checked by the lab technician.

COMPOUND LIGHT MICROSCOPE

The brief introduction to compound light microscope is also discussed in this Article. Compound Light Microscope has its name because it uses light that focuses on the specimen mounted on the glass slide. This Microscope glass slide can be found on the microscope stage. The ocular of the Compound light Microscope has 10x magnification and you can multiply that to the magnification of the objective to get the total magnification. When conducting experiments in laboratories you always need to record the appearance of the specimen as well as the magnification you used to view the specimen. How the specimen appears will depend on the light intensity used. To achieve a good visual image, you need to adjust the light adjustment so you can get the image you want. Another part of compound light microscope that can adjust the light on the specimen is the Iris diaphragm lever; this can be seen at the base of the microscope condenser. Proper adjustment of the Iris Diaphragm will be useful when viewing unstained specimens and cells. When we observe the specimen carefully we also need to consider the working distance, this is the distance that you see between the specimen and the objective lens. You need to align the objective to the specimen to achieve the right focus. The adjustment of working distance can attained when by using the coarse adjustment and the fine focus knobs that are found on the sides of the microscopes.

This Article also mentioned the special feature of the microscope called the Parfocal this is used when you want to see the specimen with a different objective without moving the fine adjustment knob. The compound light microscope is also compared with the dissecting microscope because they are the most commonly used microscopes in laboratories, both however have an adjustment for interpupillary distance to help the person in viewing the specimen without eye strain. This is very important when you are viewing the specimen for a longer period of time.

The next one explained is the field size of the specimen; this is basically the real size of what we are viewing under the microscope. Once you move the objective to higher magnification the field size of the specimen decreases. If the microscope has ocular micrometer or stage micrometer then you can measure the specimen you are viewing accurately.

It is also important to use Oil immersion objective with a drop of immersion oil to prevent the refraction of light. And if the person is still unsure on how to use the compound light microscope, it is advised that he should seek the help of the lab technician to guide him further.