Compound Light Microscope

What is a compound light microscope?                                                                                                      

To define a compound light microscope, we want to first review the part and function of the components that make up the microscope. The compound microscope has an objective on the turret that picks up the light from the specimen and magnifies it. The magnification of objectives is imprinted on the side of objectives. Further magnification (compounding) is obtained from the eye pieces. Typical microscope eye pieces on a compound light microscope are ten power.  The compounding of the magnification is the effect of the objectives magnification and eye piece magnification being combined. Other parts of a compound light microscope consist of light condensers, stages and illumination sources. Common Wattages on a compound microscope would be 20W to 30W. Some compound light microscopes used for special applications have a high intensity illumination. It is not uncommon for a compound light microscope to have a special external mounted light housing with a 50W high intensity halogen microscope bulb. Phase contrast microscopy requires a strong light source. Often a phase contrast microscope has a special high power illumination system to increase the optical imaging qualities.

One special type of compound light microscope is the darkfield microscope. Darkfield microscopy utilizes a compound light microscope fitted with a darkfield light condenser.  The darkfield condensers introduce a black disc in the light path, allowing only indirect light waves to pass around the disc.  The effect is to clearly illuminate specimens from the side, allowing them to shine brightly against a dark background.  A compound light microscope can be monocular with one eyepiece, binocular with two eyepieces (one for each eye), or trinocular with a third port for photography. 

Prices vary depending on the quality of the objectives and the features of the equipment.  For example, normal achromatic objectives are cheaper quality than plan objectives, and infinity corrected objectives are more expensive then those.  Individual budgets of the microscopist vary and must be considered when determining what optical equipment to purchase.  Please contact us regarding your needs and we will be glad to assist you with finding the right compound light microscope for your specific application.