MicroscopesWhy is this important?Microscopes are used to see things that are too small to see with the naked eye. It is essential for scientists to discover new diseases and see small details about things like bacteria and living tissue. In everyday life, microscopes are used for learning in schools and medical research. Microscopes are important in all fields of science and many important discoveries have been made. Living cells, circulating blood, understanding nerves, different materials and their qualities, bacteria and disease have all been discovered under the microscope. For example, Robert Koch discovered in 1905 that bacteria caused cholera and tuberculosis. Even today, microscopes are used to help us understand the world we live in and how our bodies work. How does it work? A simple optical microscope works by using two convex lenses at either end of a tube. The first lens, the object lens, is spherical and has a very short focal length. The other lens, called the eyepiece, has a longer focal length. When an object is placed on a platform under the object lens, its image is magnified. This image serves as an object for the eyepiece which is magnified again. This virtual image then forms in the retina of your eyes. A light shines from beneath the platform, illuminating the object. In electron microscopes, instead of a light bulb, beams of electrons are projected. This can magnify an object up to a million times its original size. Optical microscopes can only magnify up to 200 nm (one wavelength of light), as predicted by Ernst Abe. Electron microscopes can magnify this 1000 times. On microscopes there is a direct focus and a fine focus to adjust so that the image is clear and bright. Unlike tele......middle of paper......2012). Scientific inspiration: how does a microscope work? [online] Scienceinspiration.blogspot.com.au. Available at: http://scienceinspiration.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/how-does-microscope-work.html [Accessed 26 May. 2014].The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, first leeuwenhoek microscope, In the text: (The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2014) Bibliography: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, (2014). Leeuwenhoek's first microscope. [image] Available at: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQjIEeQKawcTOKNyqyI8b3deUbBslWGVq5rop5VvjrnXMPIjbjI5w [Accessed 27 May. 2014].The royal society, drawing of a flea by Hookes In the text: (drawing of a flea by Hookes, 2014) Bibliography: drawing of a flea by Hookes. (2014). [image] Available at: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkQ2NezTga5YsAmRxgzZD3lY29S4xrvleJEE0h3V2k7FJu7MP_ [Accessed 27 May. 2014].