What Are the Three Main Types of Microscopes?

Microscopes are optical devices that show tiny objects to the naked eye. For centuries, scientists have been using microscopes to examine the minute structures of various things. But how exactly did these devices first come about, and why do we still rely on them so heavily today? To answer these questions, let’s explore the three main types of microscopes.

It is the most commonly used type in science laboratories. Light microscopes use light to illuminate a sample. It has several types: Compound microscope, Confocal microscope, Stereomicroscope, Inverted microscope, Polarizing microscope, Phase-contrast microscope, Fluorescence microscope, and Spinning disk confocal microscope. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of resolving power and usability. Light microscopes usually only magnify up to 1,000 times their size.

It uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and create an image. An electron microscope has greater resolving power than a light microscope and can obtain much greater magnification. There are two basic classes of electron microscopes: the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). TEMs enable much greater magnification than optical microscopes because they use wavelengths around 100,000 times shorter than visible light.

Itincludes atomic force microscopes (AFM). A scanning probe microscope uses a physical probe that scans across the surface of a sample to detect physical characteristics such as topography and magnetism. They use a focused beam of atoms or electrons instead of light rays. Scanning probe microscopes magnify up to 100 million times their size.

So there you have it, a brief overview of the three main types of microscopes. You can choose which Mitutuyo microscope is best for you. It will depend on what you’re looking/going to do with it and the features that matter most to you. I hope this helped!