* What is an electron microscope?
Invented by a German physicist named Ernst Ruska, electron microscopes are mostly used in archaeology, medicine, and geology to look at surfaces or layers of objecs. Rather than using light, electron microscopes use electrons to produce images. They have high resolution and can magnify in small detail.
* What is a compound microscope?
Used mostly in biology, compound microscopes have two or more double convex lenses. They produce a 2-D slice image of an object, yet can attain a high enough magnification to see a hair strand. Unfortunately, they do not have excellent resolution, so the image may be blurred. On the other hand, stereoscopic microscopes, as the name implies, provide a 3-D picture of bisected items, like muscle tissue or an organ.
Compound microscopes are the simplest type of microscope and are found in many classrooms. Compound microscopes are operated entirely by hand and use ordinary ambient light from the sun or light bulb. The specimen is mounted between two glass slides, and the microscope system uses a simple series of magnifying lenses and mirrors to bring the image to the eyepiece, much like a...