Celestron Advanced Stereo Microscope Microscope Basics - Page 4

Who invented the microscope ? There is no one person who invented the microscope as several different inventors experimented with theories and ideas and developed different parts of the concept as they evolved to what is today's microscopes. About 1590 two Dutch spectacle makers, Zaccharias Janssen and his son Hans, experimented with a crude concept of a microscope that enlarged objects 10x to 30x or so. In 1609, Galileo (an Italian) improved on the principle of lenses and added a focusing device to improve somewhat upon what the Janssen's had done. These rudimentary instruments didn't change much until the early 1670s. A Dutchman, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, is considered the father of microscopes because of the advances he made in microscope design and use. He worked as an apprentice in a dry goods store where magnifying lenses were used to count the threads in cloth. Anton was inspired by these glasses and he taught himself new methods for grinding and polishing small lenses which magnified up to 270x. This led to the first practical microscopes. In 1674, Anton was the first to see and describe bacteria, yeast, plants, and life in a drop of water. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) Not many improvements were made until the 1850's when several inventors in Europe and America made vast improvements. From this time frame, modern compound and stereo microscopes have changed very little. In the early 1930's the first electron beam microscopes were developed which were a breakthrough in technology as they increased the magnification from about 1000x or so up to 250,000x or more. These microscopes use electrons rather than light to examine objects. What can you do with a microscope ? One could write a book answering this question but briefly - a microscope can be used for numerous things:  hobbyists have an interest in microscopic worlds from learning and having fun to using a microscope for the study of stamps, coins, gems, insects, etc  children can view a fantastic world of discovery  students have an interest in pursuing knowledge anywhere from middle school through the university level  medical uses from analysis to advanced research in many and varied disciplines  industrial uses as inspection and measurement tools  government and scientific uses for public safety and discovery  imaging of whatever you are looking at 4