The microscope in cell studies

• Microscope is an instrument that magnifies as well as resolves

the image of the objects that are invisible to our naked eyes.
There are two types of microscopes- light microscope and
electron microscope.
• Light microscope is the one that uses light as a source of
radiation. It is of two types- simple and compound microscope.
• Simple microscope uses the magnifying power of a single lens
system.
• Compound microscope uses the magnifying power of two
convex lens systems (objective lens and eyepiece lens) to
produce a magnified image of an object.
 Light microscope
Simple microscope Compound microscope
 
 How light microscope works?
• Mirror collects light and reflects it
towards the condenser lens.
• Condenser lens converges the light rays
received from mirror so that a beam of
light passes through the specimen
(object) and the specimen is magnified by
lenses. In other words, condenser lens
focuses the light onto the specimen.
• The objective lens produces an initial
magnified image of the specimen while
the eyepiece lens further magnifies the
image produced by the objective lens.
• A photograph taken with a light
microscope is called an light micrograph.
Light micrographs of some plant and animal cells
 Units of measurements in cell studies
• In order to measure objects in the microscope we need to use very small units.
According to international system of units of measurements, the basic unit of
length is meter (m). Additional units can be created in multiples of a 1000
times larger or smaller.

• Millimeter (mm) =10-3m

• Micrometer (µm) = 10-6m
• Nanometer (nm)= 10-9
 
Thus, 1m=1000 mm
1mm=1000 µm
1 µm=1000 nm
 Magnification and resolution
• Magnification is the power of enlargement. It is the number of times larger an
image is than the specimen. In other words magnification is an increase in size
of the image over the size of the object.
Magnification (M)= size of the image (I)
actual size of the object (A)

• Maximum magnifying power of light microscope is 1500 times while that of

electron microscope is 250,000 times.

Calculate magnification of a photograph or an image

Calculate magnification from a scale bar
Calculate real size of object from its magnification.
 Magnification and resolution
• Resolution (resolving power) of a microscope is the ability to
distinguish between two separate objects which are very close
together. If a microscope does not resolve separate small objects
that are very close together then they will be seen as one object.
• In other words, resolution is the ability to distinguish two close
points as two distinct points. If the two points cannot be resolved
they will be seen as one point.
•  Resolution of light microscope is 200 nm while that of electron
microscope is 0.5 nm. Thus objects smaller than 200 nm can not
be seen with light microscope whereas objects as small as 0.5 nm
can be seen with electron microscope.
 Magnification and resolution
• The resolving power of a microscope is related to the wavelength; the
shorter the wavelength the higher the resolution.
• Light travels in waves and the wavelength of visible light is about 400 –
700nm.
• The whole range of different wavelengths is called the electromagnetic
spectrum and visible light is only a part of this spectrum.
• In general resolution is about one half the wavelength of the radiation
used to view the specimen and thus the best resolving power of light
microscope is about 200nm. This means two objects less than 200nm apart
will be seen as one object. For electron microscope, the resolving power is
about 0.5nm. This means it can resolve two objects which are 0.5nm apart.
In other words, objects as small as 0.5nm can be seen with electron
microscope.
Electromagnetic spectrum (pg-10, textbook)
 Magnification and resolution
• Using light microscope, large structures like chloroplasts can be
seen but small structures like ribosomes cannot be seen.
• This is because the shortest wavelength of visible light is 400nm
(violet light) and the structures larger than 200nm (half the
wavelength i.e. 400nm) interferes with light waves and thus can
be seen.
• However, the structures smaller than 200nm do not interfere
with light waves and thus cannot be seen.
• For example, ribosomes are about 25nm in diameter and can
therefore not be seen with light microscope.
Magnification and resolution- pg. 11 (textbook)