What is a Microscope?
A microscope is an instrument used to magnify objects that can't be viewed with the naked eye or need a bit more magnification in order to see them better.
What can I view with a Light Microscope?
The image below shows a range of sizes from 1 meter to 0.1 nanometers. The human eye can view bats, bugs, and strands of hair. A light microscope helps to magnify blood cells and bacteria. An electron microscope is required to view a DNA molecule or an atom.
Can I View a Virus Under the Light Microscope?
A virus can not be viewed with a light microscope. A scanning electron microscope is required to view viruses.
Microscope Magnification versus Resolution
A common misconception is that more magnification from a microscope is better. Magnification is the ability of an optical instrument to enlarge or magnify an object. However, resolution is a very important factor in microscope magnification. Resolution is a measure of the detail in an image. It is possible to add "empty magnification" to the point where resolution is not crisp and clear. Imagine an image that is so zoomed in you can only view pixels. This is what empty magnification would look like under a microscope. You can find more info on microscope magnification and optical resolution here.
The images shown below are of the same sample. The image on the left was captured using a stereo microscope at 90x magnification. The resolution is not good enough to view the letters printed on the circuit. The image on the right was captured using a metallurgical microscope at 100x magnification. The resolution is good enough to view the letters printed on the circuit.
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| Low resolution image captured at 90x with a stereo microscope. |
High resolution image captured at 100x with a metallurgical microscope. |
Contact Microscope World with questions about microscope magnification or resolution.