1. Introduction to the Binocular Microscope
BIOL 1151

2. Topics covered Parts of a compound binocular microscope
How to care for a microscope.
How to focus a binocular compound microscope.

3. Parts of a microscope
Eyepiece
Arm
Nosepiece
Stage
Base

4. Parts of a microscope: Eyepieces
Binocular eyepieces
Telescoping eyepiece

5. Parts of a microscope: Nosepiece
turret
objectives

6. Parts of a microscope: Stage elements
Stage clip
Aperture (below)
Stage adjustment knobs
Backwards and forwards
Side to side

7. Parts of a microscope: Power, light, and focus
Power switch
Power cord
Light adjustment wheel
Substage lamp
Coarse focus
Fine focus

8. Care of microscope
Carrying a microscope: one hand grabs the arm and the other hand supports the bottom of the base.
Lens care
DO NOT TOUCH THE LENS! The oil from your hands can etch the glass.
CLEAN THE LENS WITH LENS PAPER ONLY! Other paper has fiber that can scratch the lens.
Putting away the microscope: rotate to the 4X objective and roll the nosepiece away from the stage so that the space between the stage and nosepiece is at a maximum.

9. Focusing a microscope
Rotate the turret so that the 4X objective clicks into place.
Place the slide on the stage. Pull out the slide clip, slip the slide in place and gently release the slide clip. The slide should be held under tension in place.
Center the specimen over the aperture.
Using the coarse focus raise the stage until you reach a stop.
Watch from the side to make sure that the objective does not smash into the slide!
Look through the right eyepiece only and lower the stage using the coarse focus until the specimen is focused. NEVER RAISE THE STAGE TO FOCUS!

10. Focusing a microscope
Adjust with the fine focus knob until specimen is sharp and clear.
Now adjust the binocularity by rotating the eyepieces so that they match the distance between your eyes and you see one circle with both eyes.
Cover your left eye and bring the specimen in focus with the fine focus knob.
Cover your right eye and adjust the sharpness by rotating the telescoping knob on the eyepiece.
Your specimen should be in focus for your eyes.

11. Lenses focus light rays at a specific place called the focal point
distance between center of lens and focal point is the focal length
strength of lens related to focal length
short focal length more magnification

12. Magnification and resolution
Magnification is the enlargement of a specimen. To determine magnification you take the power of the eyepiece X the power of the objective.
Example: A 10X eyepiece and a 4X objective magnifies the specimen 40X.
Resolution is the amount of detail you can see. This is limited by the wavelength of light that illuminates the specimen.

13. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.