Microscope

A microscope (from the Greek: μικρός, mikrós, "small" and σκοπεῖν, skopeîn, "to look" or "see") is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy. The term microscopic means minute or very small, not visible with the eye unless aided by a microscope. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek's new, improved microscope allowed people to see things no human had ever seen before.

History

The first true microscope was made around 1595 in Middelburg, The Netherlands.[1] Three different eyeglass makers have been given credit for the invention: Hans Lippershey (who also developed the first real telescope); Sacharias Jansen; and his son, Zacharias. The coining of the name "microscope" has been credited to Giovanni Faber, who gave that name to Galileo Galilei's compound microscope in 1625.[2] (Galileo had called it the "occhiolino" or "little eye".)

The most common type of microscope—and the first to be invented—is the optical microscope. This is an optical instrument containing one or more lenses that produce an enlarged image of an object placed in the focal plane of the lens(es). There are, however, many other microscope designs.