THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE

In microbiology, the microscope plays an important role in allowing us to see tiny objects
that are normally invisible to the naked eye. It is essential for students to learn how to use the
microscope in a skillful manner. Successful microscopy requires the student to:

a. Be patient.
b. Know the basic principles of microscopy.
c. Take care of the microscope.
d. Understand the nature of material observed.

For successful microscopy, then it is necessary to understand how to control the variable
microscopic factors. To do this the student needs to understand the relationships between
magnification, resolution, and contrast.

PARTS OF THE MICROSCOPE Refer to the Figure on next page

1. Illuminator. Most modern microscopes contain a built in base illuminator with a facility to
vary the intensity of light by varying the voltage to the lamp (light intensity) as well as an iris
diaphragm in the condenser. For optimal results, the proper amount of illumination should be
obtained: fields that are too bright or too dim will not allow you to see the details of the
preparation you are examining and can lead to eye-fatigue. Be sure you are familiar with both
the iris diaphragm (mechanical) and the light intensity adjustment (electrical).

2. Objective Lenses. These are mounted on the revolving nosepiece. Each lens is marked with
its Magnification/Numerical Aperture and Focal Distance. Be sure you can distinguish between
these numbers. Most standard pathology microscopes have 4X, 10X, 40X, and 100X oil
immersion lenses. The first three are used with only air between the lens and the slide, the
highest power lens (100X) is used with a drop of immersion oil between the lens and the slide.
That is the light passing through the slide (material being viewed) passes through only oil, not
air, as it is transmitted to the lens system.

The objective lenses must be kept clean. Use lens tissue or Kimwipes to clean the outer,
exposed surfaces of the lenses. Although the oil immersion lens is designed to work in oil, the
oil must be removed after use and before you put the microscope away at the end of the period.
All the other lenses do not operate with oil on them. If oil gets on the air lenses it will ruin their
mounts and surfaces. Oil must never contact the air lenses.
3. Ocular Lenses. The ocular lenses usually magnify 10X. Thus the total magnification
observed is the multiplication of the power of magnification of the ocular times the objective.
For example the image of an object magnified by the ocular and the 40X high-dry objective is
viewed at 400 times its real size. Most ocular lenses can be moved back and forth to adjust to
the interpupillary distance of the student. When first using the microscope, adjust the ocular
lenses back and forth until a circular field is viewed with both eyes open. Additionally, many
microscopes allow the ocular lenses to be adjusted up and down (mechanical tube length
adjustment) and there is a scale alongside the tube. After adjusting the interpupillary distance,
read the distance off the scale and adjust the tube length of the ocular lens to the same value.
Now the ocular lenses are adjusted to
your eyes.

Photo courtesy of Olympus Corporation

Precision Instrument Division, Lake Success, N.Y.
4. Condenser Lens. Below the stage is the condenser lens. This focuses light onto the object
and is not involved in the magnification. The focusing adjustment is a rack and pinion
movement to permit vertical movement of the condenser. Clear images are obtained only when
the condenser lens is in proper focus: when the cone of rays illuminating the object is equal to
that observed by the objective lens. If you have a blurry object, it could well be that the
condenser is out of focus...adjust both the iris diaphragm and condenser focus adjustments. With
time, your patience will be rewarded by clear crisp images.

5. Coarse and Fine Adjustment Wheels. These are used to raise and lower the body tube or
stage, depending upon the manufacture of the microscope. The coarse adjustment is used to first
bring the object into approximate focus starting first with the stage as close as possible to the
objective lens without touching. Then move the coarse adjustment so that the stage moves away
from the lens until the object is in relative focus. If this is always done in this way, there is no
possibility that the lens gets jammed into the slide....damaging both. After the object is in
relative focus, it can then be brought into sharp, critical focus with the fine adjustment knob.

MAGNIFICATION AND RESOLVING DISTANCE

It is relatively easy to think of the microscope in terms of magnification; the importance

of which is without dispute. However, the importance of magnification is meaningless without a
clear crisp image and resolution is a measure of clarity. Resolution is defined by resolving
distance. Resolving distance is the smallest distance between two points that allows the observer
to see those points as distinctly separate. The most limiting factor in obtaining good resolution is
the wavelength of light used for illumination. Bear in mind that the bacteriologist observes
objects whose own dimensions are of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of light.
Blue light (360 nm to 420 nm) permits greater resolution than red light (650 nm to 800 nm).

Sometimes it is possible to magnify an image beyond the smallest resolving distance of

the lens system; this is termed "empty magnification" because although the image is magnified,
it is not distinct but blurry and can not be seen as well as if it were magnified to a lesser amount
within the resolving distance of the objective.

Another factor that determines resolving distance is the refractive index of the medium
through which the light rays pass. The refractive index of glass is 1.52 compared to air (N =
1.00). Light rays passing through a glass slide, using the high-dry lens, will pass through air and
be bent before reaching the objective lens. Less bending will occur with water than air and even
less with oil. The maximal angular aperture of the lens (the angle of greatest divergence of light
rays that the objective lens can collect) will not be realized with air. With an oil immersion lens,
the air space between the glass slide and the lens is replaced with oil that has a refractive index
very close to that of glass. These factors are combined in the Numerical Aperture of the lens.
The numerical aperture of a lens is defined as:

Numerical Aperture = N (sin α)

where "N" is the refractive index of the material between the object and the objective lens and
"α" is one half of the angular aperture of the objective lens. If a high-dry lens has an angular
aperture of 111o48'(sin α = 0.828), its numerical aperture working in air (N = 1.00) will be:

N.A. = 1.00 x 0.828 = 0.83

If that same lens could be used in oil (most likely it couldn't), it would have a numerical aperture
of:

N.A. = 1.52 x 0.828 = 1.26

assuming a refractive index of 1.52 for the oil. These calculations are important because of their
relationship to the resolving distance. The formula for Resolving Distance is:

R.D. = wavelength/(2 N.A.)

The reason the numerical aperture is multiplied by two is that two numerical apertures are
involved: that of the objective lens and that of the condenser. When the condenser is in perfect
focus it has the numerical aperture of the objective. The denominator of the Resolving Distance
equation is really the numerical aperture of the objective plus the numerical aperture of the
condenser. If one assumes that "average blue light" is being used (wavelength = 400 nm), using
an oil lens of numerical aperture of 1.25 will allow you to resolve distinctly objects as small as
the resolving distance:

R.D. = 400 nm/(2 x 1.25) = 160 nm or 0.16 μm

This means that under the most ideal conditions, this lens is capable of distinguishing two
objects as separate if they are 0.16 um or greater apart. If the two objects are less than 0.16 μm
apart, say 0.10 μm, then they will be blurred together at the point where they are 0.10 μm apart.
 RULES FOR USE AND CARE OR THE MICROSCOPE

1. Use only lens paper or Kimwipes to clean the optical parts of the microscope. Do not use
paper towels, lab coat tails, handkerchiefs or other such to clean the lenses.

2. Never immerse the 10X or 40X lenses in oil.

3. When done each day, wipe off oil from the 100X oil immersion lens.

4. When done each day, clean stage, condenser lens, the other objective lenses and ocular
lenses.

5. Do not attempt to clean the inside of the microscope or a lens.

6. Keep the microscope upright when taking or returning the microscope to the cabinet.

7. When the microscope is put away, the lowest power lens should be in place.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WELL BEING OF YOUR MICROSCOPE