Co, Charlene S.

2FMT

Prof. Ponciano 11/13/12

DIFFERENT TYPES OF MICROSCOPE

LIGHT MICROSCOPY Bright-field Microscope is used in stained preparations by means of ordinary light that passes through the specimen. It consists of a condenser that collects and focuses light, producing a cone of light that illuminates the specimen to be observed. The objective lenses enlarge and project the illuminated image of the object in the direction of the eyepiece. The eyepiece further magnifies the image and projects it onto the viewers retina. The critical factor in obtaining a crisp, detailed image with a light microscope is its resolving power, defined as the smallest distance between two particles at which they can be seen as separate objects. Bright field microscopy is best suited to viewing stained or naturally pigmented specimens such as stained prepared slides of tissue sections or living photosynthetic organisms. It is useless for living specimens of bacteria, and inferior for non-photosynthetic protists or metazoans, or unstained cell suspensions or tissue sections. Fluorescene Microscope is used when the sample you want to study is the light source. The technique is used to study specimens, which can be made to fluoresce. Fluorescene microscope has a strong UV light source and special filters that select rays of different wavelengths emitted by the substances. The fluorescence microscope is based on the phenomenon that certain material emits energy detectable as visible light when irradiated with the light of a specific wavelength. The sample can either be fluorescing in its natural form like chlorophyll and some minerals, or treated with fluorescing chemicals.

Phase-Contrast Microscope - The phase contrast microscope is widely used for examining such specimens as biological tissues. It is a type of light microscopy that enhances contrasts of transparent and colorless objects by influencing the optical path of light. The phase contrast microscope is able to show components in a cell or bacteria, which would be very difficult to see in an ordinary light microscope. It uses a lens system that produces visible images from transparent objects. Differential Interference Microscope allows transparent objects to be seen by using the difference in lights refraction when transmitted through the varying thicknesses of a specimen. It produces an image with a more apparent threedimensional aspect than in routine phase-contrast microscopy.

Confocal Microscope is designed for highresolution, confocal observation of both fixed and living cells, enabling visualization deep within samples. Confocal microscopey avoids stray light and achieves greater resolution by using a small point of high intensity light provided by a laser and a plate with a pinhole aperture in front of the image detector.

Polarizing Microscope is mainly used in geological studies to study geological specimens. For this reason, it is also known as a petrographic microscope. a polarizing microsco pe uses polarized light to study specimens. In polarized light, the light waves vibrate in one direction; in normal light, the light waves vibrate in random directions.

ELECTRON MICROSCOPY Transmission Electron Microscope Uses a high-powered electron beam, electron imaging that tramsits through a sample N/A Up to A million times Requires very thin sections, Samples are limited to those that are electron transparent, able to tolerate the vacuum chamber and small enough to fit in the chamber TEMs provide information on element and compound structure Images are high-quality and detailed. Images are black and white TEM systems read samples by housing them in a specialized stage midway down the machines column. TEM systems tend to display results on Scanning Electron Microscope Scans a beam across the object, only scans the surface of a sample. Measures the lost energy to create a threedimensional picture of the surface of an object Up to 100,000 times SEMs are limited to solid, inorganic samples small enough to fit inside the vacuum chamber that can handle moderate vacuum pressure. N/A Images are high-quality and detailed. Images are black and white In SEM, the sample examined is held in a chamber at the bottom of the microscope.

These microscopes tend to project their results

fluorescent screens, but offer a considerably increased resolving power over SEM imaging. Samples for use in TEM scanning can only be read when prepared on a supported TEM grid.

through a television monitor, though this can vary by model.

Samples used in SEM imaging must be prepared on specialized aluminum stubs, instead of the glass slides used in optical microscopy.

Source: http://www.microscopyu.com http://www.nobelprize.org http://www.differencebetween.net