Light Microscope

Thank you for purchasing our

products. This manual can
help you using the light micro-
scope properly.

(Note: If there is any damage

on the light microscope when
you receive it, please return
to the shop where you pur-
chased the item.)

Table of Contents
Figure 1. The light microscope6

General Information of the Microscope 1

About This Product 2

Using the Microscope 4

Troubleshooting 5

Source 5
General Information of the Microscope
The Light Microscope is an instrument that allows the user
to observe tiny things that a human cannot see through naked
eyes, it can be used to magnify the images of objects directly
through the lens.

Historical Background
It is widely believed that Dutch spectacle makers, Zacharias
Jansen and his father Hans were responsible for making the
first compound microscope in the late 16th century (Z Jans-
sen c. 1580 - 1638). The microscope consisted of three draw
tubes with lenses inserted into the ends of the flanking tubes.
The eyepiece lens was bi-convex and the objective lens was
plano-convex, a very advanced compound design for this time
period. Focusing of this handheld microscope was achieved by
sliding the draw tube in or out while observing the sample. The
microscope was capable of magnifying images approximately 3
times when fully closed and up to ten times when extended to
the maximum.1

Different Types of Microscope

There are 4 categories of microscope, they are optical micro-
scope, electron microscope, scanning probe microscope and
others.
The light microscope, which is the most common microscope
that is used in science laboratories, belongs to the optical mi-
croscope; the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the
scanning electron microscope (SEM) belong to the category of
electron microscope, electron beams are used in those
1
microscopes to magnify objects; the atomic force microscope
is the scanning probe microscope, its probe is used to scan the
surface of objects; and the X-ray microscope belongs to the cat-
egory of others.2

About This Product

This light microscope is a compact microscope, it can be carried
by one hand using the arm of the light microscope. (See Fig-
ure 1.) The length of the light microscope is 15cm, the width is
15cm, and the height is 25cm.

Components
The Light microscope is a precision instrument, it consists of
many little parts. (See Figure 1 for the name of each part of the
microscope.)
Ocular lens/eyepiece are the
lenses that users look into to
observe the objects. Usually the
magnifications of ocular lens are
10 times or 15 times.3

Diopter adjustment is the tool

that changes the focus of one
eyepiece so that people with
different vision on their two eyes
can see the images clearly.

Head is a body part of the light

microscope, inside the head,
there is a tube that connects the
ocular lens to the objective lens.
Figure 2. The component of light microscope3

2
Frame is a body part of the light microscope that connects the body tube to the
base of the microscope.3

Nose Piece is a rotating turret that houses the objective lenses. The viewer spins
the nosepiece to select different objective lenses.

Objective lens are the lenses that are placed closest to the objects, the magnifi-
cations of objective lens are from lowest of 4 times to highest 100 times.3

Coarse Adjustment is a knob that is used for focusing objects in a general fo-
cus.

Fine adjustment is a knob that is used for focusing objects in a detailed focus.

Mechanical Stage is the platform that holds the slides under the objective lens
for observing.

Condenser is the lens that focusing the light on the object under observation.
When very high powers of 400X are used, condenser lenses are very important.
Presence of condenser lens gives a sharper image as compared to the micro-
scope with no condenser lens.4

Illumination is the light source of a microscope. Usually there is a bulb in the

illumination, but in older version of microscopes, they use mirrors to reflect light
from an external environment.

Brightness adjustment is the knob that is used for adjusting the bulbs bright-
ness.

Light switch is a switch for turning on/off the illumination.

Base is a body part of the light microscope that provides basal support for the
microscope.

3
Using the Microscope
Before actually using the light microscope, you need to prepare
the following materials:
Power outlet
Lens paper
Specimen you are going to observe
Microscope slides
Coverslips

Step 1: Move the microscope close to a power outlet.

Step 2: Use lens paper to clean the lenses.

(Warning: Only use the lens paper to clean the Figure 3. Microscope slides5
lenses of the microscope, otherwise it can scratch
the lenses.)

Step 3: Plugin the power and turn on the light of the microscope.

Step 4: Rotate the eyepiece until the scanning (4X) objective is aligned with the
light source.
(Warning: Always begin examining slides with the scanning objective)

Step 5: Place a microscope slide of the specimen on the stage and center the
specimen over the hole in the stage.

Step 6: Rotate the coarse adjustment knob until you can see the specimen in
focus.
(Warning: Only use coarse adjustment knob when you are using the 4X
or 10X objective lens.)

Step 7: Rotate the fine adjustment knob to focus the specimen until the image is
clear.

Step 8: Adjust the condenser so that the brightness of the transmitted light pro
vides the best view.

Step 9: Rotate the nose piece to a higher magnification if needed, repeat Step 7
8.
4
Step 10: Rotate the coarse adjustment back to remove the slide when finishing
observing.

Step 11: Clean the slide and prepare for next specimen if needed. Then repeat
Step 510.

Step 12: Turn off the light source, then unplug the microscope.

Step 13: Use cloth to cover the microscope, and store the microscope in a dry,
stable place.

Troubleshooting
FAQs and further questions could be found on our website
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/

You can also contact us via phone

1-800-622-6372
Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm ET6

Source
1. History of the light microscope. History of the Microscope, 2010, http://www.history-of-the-microscope.org/

invention-of-glass-lenses-and-the-history-of-the-light-microscope.php. Accessed 11 July 2017

2. Microscope Types & Principle. Keyence Corporation, 2017, http://www.keyence.com/ss/products/micro-

scope/bz-x700/study/principle/002/index.jsp. Accessed 11 July 2017

3. Anderson, Hayley. Parts of a Compound Microscope. MicroscopeMaster.com, 2010, http://www.micro-

scopemaster.com/parts-of-a-compound-microscope.html. Accessed 10 July 2017.

4. Microscope Parts and Functions. TutorVista.com, 2017, http://www.tutorvista.com/biology/micro-

scope-parts-and-functions. Accessed 10 July 2017.

5. Microscope Slides. Universal Medical, 1983, http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/microscope-slides-dia-

mond-white-glass-90.html. Accessed 10 July 2017.

6. Contact Us. Olympus, 2017, http://www.olympuscanada.com/cpg_section/cpg_consumercontact.asp.

Accessed 10 July 2017.