Introduction

You may already know that the invention of the microscope led to the discovery of cells – but did you know that it was the visual appearance of dead cork cells through the microscope which led to their name (“cells”)?  In 1665, an English scientist named Robert Hooke first observed tiny shavings of cork through his newly invented device, the compound microscope.

His drawing showed a honeycomb-like network of tiny little boxes all connected together like small rooms.  Based upon this observation, Robert Hooke decreed these structures to be ‘cellulae’, which is Latin for ‘little storage rooms.”  As it was known that the structures observed were from dried, non-living bark, Hooke later wrote that in living trees and other plants, ‘…these cells are filled with juices.’

Subsequent improvements of the microscope were made by researchers like Anton Von Leeuwenhoek, who was the first to discover mobile, microscopic life forms present in pond water.

Prior to these observations, many smaller life forms, such as fleas, aphids and weevils, were thought to spontaneously appear out of simple sand or dust.

The following video explains the different types of microscopes and how they work.

Summary

Microscopes are powerful tools which are used to visualize objects, structures or organisms that are simply too small to see with the naked eye.

There are three main types of microscopes:

• Light Microscope
• Can be used for observing living material
• Can magnify images by 1000X
• Transmission Electron Microscope
• Uses electrons as illumination source
• Most powerful magnification (400,000X)
• Scanning Electron Microscope
• Uses electrons as illumination source
• Provides 3-D image of material
• Can magnify objects by 40,000X

Sources:

“WHAT ARE LIGHT AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPES?.” Uploaded by
Free Animated Education, Feb 10, 2021. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/cQuX8tfwlYA

“Cell Structure.” By OpenStax Biology 2e. Retrieved from: https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/4-1-studying-cells/ Licensed under: CC-BY: Attribution