Book 13, Question 65
How Does a Microscope Show Things Too Small to See?
A microscope uses two lenses, one close to the object and one near your eye. Together they magnify the picture in two steps. That lets you see things too small for your eyes alone.
More fun facts
- Eyeglass makers in the Netherlands and Denmark built the first microscopes in the early 1600s.
- The simplest compound microscope uses two lenses that bulge outward.
- The first lens is called the objective, and it often magnifies 5 to 100 times.
- The second lens, the eyepiece, works like a magnifying glass and makes the picture even bigger.
- To find the total magnification, you multiply what the two lenses do.
- The picture you see in this kind of microscope is upside down.
- Tiny things reflect very little light, so many microscopes shine a light on the sample.
Sources: openstax.org
Questions kids ask
Why do microscopes have more than one lens?
Each lens makes the picture bigger, and together their effects multiply, so the final picture is much larger than one lens could make.