2. Background
The microscope was first built in
1595 by Hans and Zacharias
Janssen (1588-1631) in Holland.
Later, it was perfected in the 17th
century in several countries,
including by Robert Hooke (1635-
1703), in England but most notably
by a Dutchman, Anton van
Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723).
3. Around the 1st century, someone
discovered that looking through a
crystal made things look larger
4. Thatpiece of crystal was called a
“magnifying glass” and then later
was called a lens because it was
shaped like a lentil seed.
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5. In the 13th century
(1200s) an Italian
inventor made the
first eye glasses,
allowing the wearer
to have
magnification. His
name was Salvino
D’Armate. Eye
glasses were also
called spectacles.
6. The earliest forms of
magnification were
magnifying glasses,
usually between 6x to
10x, and were used for
looking at tiny insects.
These excited general
wonder when used to
view fleas or tiny
creeping things and so
were dubbed "flea
glasses."
7. Themicroscope
was first built in
1595 by
Zacharias
Janssen and his
father Hans in
Holland.
8. The first compound
microscopes produced
by the Janssens were
simply a tube with
lenses at each end.
The magnification of
these early scopes
ranged from 3X to 9X,
depending on the size
of the diaphragm
openings.
9. 14th century lenses were used
in spectacles
Late 16th century the Dutch refined the art
of lens grinding significant
magnification.
1600s – lenses first mounted on
permanent frameworks (so distance could
be changed)
– Why would this be important?
To focus the image
10. Next, lenses were
paired together.
These formed the
earliest compound
microscopes and
telescopes.
– Why would this be
useful?
To increase the
magnification
11. Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
Developed a primitive
compound microscope
In Micrographia (1665),
he coined the word cell to
describe the features of
plant tissue (cork from the
bark of an oak tree) he
was able to discover under
the microscope.
13. Using a much improved microscope, with a monocular eyepiece, a
wooden tube, a stage for holding a specimen, and a glass globe full
of water to concentrate light onto it, Hooke produced marvelous
illustrations, which were published in 1667, in his famous book
Micrographia, which fired the imagination of his contemporaries,
including van Leeuwenhoek.
16. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
He gained much of his
inspiration form reading Hooke's
Micrographia.
Used his new instrument,
reaching 300x with a single lens
(more powerful than Hooke’s)
and discovered startling
microscopic things, such as
protozoa and spermatozoa, or
to discover the microscopic
structure of known things, such
as fleas and plant leaves.
17. Anton Van
Leeuwenhoek was the
first to see bacteria,
yeast, and life found
in a drop of pond
water.
He refined lens
grinding so that living
things could be seen
through the
microscope.
18. Thenthere was little change until the
Industrial Revolution (1750-1850)
19. Changes of the Industrial
Revolution
Standardized parts (which were
interchangeable with other
microscopes) lead to mass
production
This triggered a drop in price
increased access new discoveries
clearer images
In approx. 1880 modern
microscopes were being used
20. With the
advancement of
technology and
improved optics,
the compound
light
microscope
came into being.
21. Other types of microscopes:
Electron Microscope
Developed in the 1930s
Allowed for higher
magnification
Used electron beams (instead
of light) and focused with an
electromagnet (no lenses)
Light microscope magnifies
up to 2000X
Electron microscope
magnifies up to 50000X or
higher
Better quality images at
higher magnification
