Microscope Lab

This lab simulations was interesting because I haven't used a microscope since high school. The sample that I am posting is of the cheek smear, I picked this one because I found it the most interesting.

Cheek smear at 40x

The stage is where the where the slide with the sample is put and it is held in place with the stage clips. The slide is easier to adjust when you are looking at the stage to make sure that you get it on the light. The oculars are the eyepieces that you look through to see the sample and they are easiest to adjust when looking through them. The objectives are the magnification lenses (i.e. 40x) there are easier to move when you are looking at them. The iris is the light source under the stage that is used to actually see the sample. As the objectives increase the iris needs to be increased. It is easiest to adjust looking through. The focus knobs are what bring the sample into focus and they are easier to adjust looking through. The knobs move side to side and then bring things into focus as well.

Here is some brief history about the microscope. Zacharias and Hans Janssen, who were father and son, built the first microscope in 1595. It was a tube with a lense at each end. The range was pretty limited at 3x to 9x. In 1660 Robert Hooke improved the microscope and also came up with the theory of planetary. Anton Van Lieuwenhoek improved and modified the microscope by only using one lense instead of two. Which is what we have now. With this new microscope he was the first person to be able to describe what bacteria look like. He also helped prove the theory of blood circulation.

This lab was very easy once I got a handle on how to use the online microscope. The history was pretty interesting as well, but some of the readings were very drawn out and boring.