Question

Name any two parts of the compound light microscope and their specific functions.

Answer 1

A compound microscope is a microscope which uses more than one lens. A combination of lenses are used in it.

It consists different parts,

• Eyepiece
• Lens tube
• Objective lenses
• Stage
• Table
• Condenser
• Luminous-field diaphragm
• Base etc.  

1. Eyepiece

  Eyepiece (Ocular) is what we look through at the top of the microscope. It is so named (Eyepiece) because it is usually the lens that is closest to the eye when someone observes through the microscope.

Normally eyepieces have a magnifying power of 10x or 15x.

The main function of eyepiece is to focuses the light rays from the object to form a sharp image on the retina of the eye. So it helps to focus easily to the object (Specimen).

Also it gives an additional magnification to the object. The amount of magnification depends on the focal length of the eyepiece.

2. Objective lenses

It is the most important part of the microscope. This lens is positioned near to the object (Specimen). So the name objective lens. Most microscopes come with at least three objective lenses.

Image enhancement is the major function of objective lens. It magnify objects enough to see them in great detail. Also Objective lenses have a role in resolving power (The greater the resolving power, the smaller the minimum distance between two lines or points that can still be distinguished). Objective lense determines the resolving power of the microscope.