Types of Light Microscope

A compound light microscope is relatively small, therefore it’s easy to use and simple to store, and it comes with its own light source. Moreover, because of their multiple lenses, compound light microscopes are able to reveal a great amount of detail in samples.

Electron Microscopes Shoot Small Particles Electron microscopes shoot beams of electrons at their subject, which is held in an airless, vacuum-sealed tube. Scientist often use these microscopes to study cells.

The optical microscope, often referred to as the light microscope, is a type of microscope that uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small subjects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly invented in their present compound form in the 17th century.

SEM stands for scanning electron microscope. The SEM is a microscope that uses electrons instead of light to form an image. Since their development in the early 1950's, scanning electron microscopes have developed new areas of study in the medical and physical science communities.

Stereo models function differently, and therefore meet the needs of users in a different way. What is a Stereo Microscope. So what makes these units so special? A stereo, or dissecting, microscope provides a three-dimensional view of the specimen. It does this with separate objective lenses and eyepieces for each eye. They have lower magnification when compared to compound microscopes, but they also have a longer working distance.

The Transmission Electron Microscope The transmission electron microscope (TEM) operates on the same basic principles as the light microscope but uses electrons instead of light. What you can see with a light microscope is limited by the wavelength of light.