It is compound enough to understand the technical configurations of compound microscopes. More confusion sets in when these microscopes come in several disguises when they all share the same thread. They are all compound.

So You Want a Compound Microscope

Get acquainted with the different types of compound microscopes before buying one. Yes, there are different types of this microscope, which to a newbie can be confusing; if you are procuring one you might be asked if you want a binocular, monocular, trinocular, or light microscope. Don't cringe. Tell them outright you want microscope that is good enough to study cells and tissues and you want two-eyepieces to see them with.

You'll be handed a binocular microscope with compound functions. But if you tell them you want a unit that has a stage with a hole in it, because that was what you saw in your school lab, you'll be shown an array of compound light microscopes. This type of microscope uses that hole on the stage for light source, the better to view the specimen with.

As for the monocular, it's good for microscopy experts. Do not take this if you hate the idea of squinting an eye to view the specimen. It can be confusing. Well, it can be done if you remedy this by using a patch over the other eye so you can see the specimen as one whole piece.

All about Optics

But whatever they are called, they all have convex or curved lenses. Take a long hard look at a compound microscope. There are four lenses facing towards the specimen on the stage, while the other two serve as the eyepiece. The objective lens sends an enlarged image to the eyepiece or the ocular lens so what you see is a ten times the image of the specimen. These objective lenses make it possible for you to adjust the degree of magnification of the object.

If you want a higher degree of magnification, you use the high dry objective. It is the longest of the objective lenses and magnifies objects forty times their size. There's the oil immersion objective though not available always. This is much longer than the high dry objective. So what's special about this? This magnifies objects one hundred times their actual size but a drop of oil must be placed on top of the sample tissue to fill the space between the specimen and the objective lens.

You will be informed that you can determine objective magnification by multiplying objective power by the ocular power. These two sources of magnification makes these scopes compound - whether these are binocular, monocular, or light. It's all about optics with compound microscopes; nothing more and nothing less and there are no powerful gadgets hidden in these microscopes.

Knowing these facts can help you make a choice when presented with a bevy of compound scopes. However, you'll be asked again for your brand preference. Now that's another thing. You can dig up brand information and compare notes with friends. By that time, you can march up and announce that you want a binocular light compound microscope. That's indeed a mouthful but then it all boils down to compound microscopes.

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