Question

Which components of a microscope are needed to provide the necessary magnification, resolution, and contrast? Why?

thanks

Answer 1

• The eyepiece - It contains the ocular lens, through which the user looks to see the magnified specimen. The ocular lens has a magnification that can range from 5x to 20x.
• Objective turret - A revolving nose piece to adjust the magnification power is the part that holds the set of objective lenses.
• The objective lenses - They combine with the eyepiece lens to increase magnification levels. Microscopes generally feature three or four objective lenses, with magnification levels ranging 4x to 100x.
• The condenser lens - It works with the diaphragm to focus the intensity of the light source onto the slide containing the specimen.
• Focus knobs - Adjustment knobs move the stage up and down with separate adjustment for coarse and fine focusing.
• Stage - A mechanical stage allows tiny movements of the slide via control knobs that reposition the sample/slide as desired. All stages move up and down for focus. Moving to a higher magnification requires the stage to be moved higher vertically for re-focus at the higher magnification and may also require slight horizontal specimen position adjustment.
• The light source - Microscopes require a light source for viewing. A built-in, low-voltage illuminator light, or a mirror that reflects an external light source like sunlight are used.