Parts of the Compound Light Microscope
- The ocular lens or eyepiece is the lens that you look into.
- The body tube separates the ocular lens from the objectives in order for proper magnification.
- The revolving nosepiece is where the objectives are mounted. You rotate it to change the zoom level.
- The objectives are the lenses that magnify the specimen (the object you place on the stage to magnify). Most microscopes come with 4x, 10x, and 40x zooms.
- The stage is where you place your slide to magnify.
- The stage clips hold your slide in place.
- The diaphragm is made up of different sized holes to let different amounts of light pass through the specimen.
- The light source supplies the light to go through the diaphragm. This can be either a lamp or a mirror.
- The base is the platform of the microscope.
- The fine adjustment knob is used to sharpen the image of the specimen.
- The coarse adjustment knob is used to move the stage up or down to focus on the specimen.
- The arm holds the body tube in place and is used to carry the microscope.
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