Microscope and lens In a compound microscope with two

lenses, the arrangement of the lenses

Although cells vary in size, they’re has an interesting consequence: the
generally quite small. For instance, orientation of the image you see is
the diameter of a typical human red flipped in relation to the actual object
blood cell is about eight micrometers you’re examining. For example, if
(0.008 millimeters). To give you some you were looking at a piece of
context, the head of a pin of is about newsprint with the letter “e” on it, the
one millimeter in diameter, so about image you saw through the
125 red blood cells could be lined up microscope would be “ə." ^{1}1start
in a row across the head of a pin. superscript, 1, end superscript More
With a few exceptions, individual complex compound microscopes may
cells cannot be seen with the naked not produce an inverted image
eye, so scientists must instead use because they include an additional
microscopes (micro- = “small”; - lens that “re-inverts” the image back
scope = “to look at”) to study them. to its normal state.
A microscope is an instrument that
magnifies objects otherwise too small What separates a basic microscope
to be seen, producing an image in from a powerful machine used in a
which the object appears larger. Most research lab? Two parameters are
photographs of cells are taken using a especially important in microscopy:
microscope, and these pictures can magnification and resolution.
also be called micrographs.
 Magnification is a measure of how
From the definition above, it might much larger a microscope (or set of
sound like a microscope is just a kind lenses within a microscope) causes an
of magnifying glass. In fact, object to appear. For instance, the
magnifying glasses do qualify as light microscopes typically used in
microscopes; since they have just one high schools and colleges magnify up
lens, they are called simple to about 400 times actual size. So,
microscopes. The fancier instruments something that was 1 mm wide in real
that we typically think of as life would be 400 mm wide in the
microscopes are compound microscope image.
microscopes, meaning that they have
 The resolution of a microscope or
multiple lenses. Because of the way
these lenses are arranged, they can lens is the smallest distance by which
bend light to produce a much more two points can be separated and still
magnified image than that of a be distinguished as separate objects.
magnifying glass. The smaller this value, the higher
the resolving power of the
microscope and the better the clarity
and detail of the image. If two A light microscope, of the sort
bacterial cells were very close commonly found in high school and
together on a slide, they might look undergraduate biology labs.
like a single, blurry dot on a
microscope with low resolving power, Student lab microscopes tend to
but could be told apart as separate on be brightfield microscopes, meaning
a microscope with high resolving that visible light is passed through the
power. sample and used to form an image
[What determines resolving power?] directly, without any modifications.
^2start superscript, 2, end superscript Slightly more sophisticated forms of
light microscopy use optical tricks to
^{2,3}start superscript, 2, comma, 3, enhance contrast, making details of
end superscript cells and tissues easier to see.
Both magnification and resolution are Another type of light microscopy
important if you want a clear picture is fluorescence microscopy, which is
of something very tiny. For example, used to image samples that fluoresce
if a microscope has high (absorb one wavelength of light and
magnification but low resolution, all emit another). Light of one
you’ll get is a bigger version of a wavelength is used to excite the
blurry image. Different types of fluorescent molecules, and the light of
microscopes differ in their a different wavelength that they emit
magnification and resolution. is collected and used to form a
picture. In most cases, the part of a
cell or tissue that we want to look at
Light microscopes
isn't naturally fluorescent, and instead
Most student microscopes are must be labeled with a fluorescent dye
classified as light microscopes. In a or tag before it goes on the
light microscope, visible light passes microscope.
through the specimen (the biological
sample you are looking at) and is bent The leaf picture at the start of the
through the lens system, allowing the article was taken using a specialized
user to see a magnified image. A kind of fluorescence microscopy
benefit of light microscopy is that it called confocal microscopy. A
can often be performed on living confocal microscope uses a laser to
cells, so it’s possible to watch cells excite a thin layer of the sample and
carrying out their normal behaviors collects only the emitted light coming
(e.g., migrating or dividing) under the from the target layer, producing a
microscope. sharp image without interference from
fluorescent molecules in the
surrounding layers^{4}4start detail can be seen in the scanning
superscript, 4, end superscript. electron micrograph..
In the image above, you can compare
Electron microscopes how Salmonella bacteria look in a
Some cutting-edge types of light light micrograph (left) versus an
microscopy (beyond the techniques image taken with an electron
we discussed above) can produce very microscope (right). The bacteria show
high-resolution images. However, if up as tiny purple dots in the light
you want to see something very tiny microscope image, whereas in the
at very high resolution, you may want electron micrograph, you can clearly
to use a different, tried-and-true see their shape and surface texture, as
technique: electron microscopy. well as details of the human cells
they’re trying to invade.
Electron microscopes differ from light
microscopes in that they produce an
image of a specimen by using a beam Image of an electron microscope. It is
of electrons rather than a beam of very large, roughly the size of an
light. Electrons have much a shorter industrial stove..
wavelength than visible light, and this There are two major types of electron
allows electron microscopes to microscopy. In scanning electron
produce higher-resolution images than microscopy (SEM), a beam of
standard light microscopes. Electron electrons moves back and forth across
microscopes can be used to examine the surface of a cell or tissue, creating
not just whole cells, but also the a detailed image of the 3D surface.
subcellular structures and This type of microscopy was used to
compartments within them. take the image of
One limitation, however, is that the Salmonella bacteria shown at
electron microscopy samples must be right, above.
placed under vacuum in electron In transmission electron
microscopy (and typically are microscopy (TEM), in contrast, the
prepared via an extensive fixation sample is cut into extremely thin
process). This means that live cells slices (for instance, using a diamond
cannot be imaged. cutting edge) before imaging, and the
electron beam passes through the slice
Images of Salmonella bacteria taken rather than skimming over its
via light microscopy and scanning surface^55start superscript, 5, end
electron microscopy. Much more superscript. TEM is often used to
obtain detailed images of the internal
structures of cells.
Electron microscopes, like the one
above, are significantly bulkier and
more expensive than standard light
microscopes, perhaps not surprisingly
given the subatomic particles they
have to handle!