2 | Light Microscopes

Light Microscopes

  • The type of microscope you will use at school is called a light microscope.
  • Light microscopes use light rays for viewing objects.
  • There are three main types of light microscopes – monocular microscopes, binocular microscopes and stereo microscopes.
  • A monocular microscope is viewed through one eyepiece and produces a two-dimensional image.
  • A binocular microscope is viewed through two eyepieces and produces a two-dimensional image.
  • A stereo microscope (also called a dissecting microscope) is viewed through two eyepieces and produces a three-dimensional image.
  • Examples of each type of light microscope are shown below.

 

 monocular compound microscope  binocular compound microscope  stereo dissecting microscope

A monocular microscope (left), a binocular microscope (centre) and a stereo microscope (right).

(Images: OlegDoroshin, Adobe Stock; Amada44, Wikimedia Commons; ZEISS Microscopy, Wikimedia Commons)