SRI KRISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

A PROJECT REPORT

MICROSCOPES

SUBMITTED FOR
PHYSICS
PRACTICAL EXAMINATION TO BE HELD ON
2025
SUBMITTED BY
SAMANTHULA LAKSHANYA
XII-SCIENCE STREAM
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr Dr. R.

KRISHNAMOORTHY Chairman Sri Krish
International School for his guidance throughout the
work on this project.

I am highly thankful to Mrs Dr. S. UDAYA CHITRA

principal for her valuable guidance and for her
constant encouragement.

I am highly thankful to Mrs NAVITHA ALVA for

her valuable guidance and for her constant
encouragement.

I am highly thankful to Mr MANOHAR T for his

valuable guidance and for his constant
encouragement.

I take this opportunity to thank all those who have

helped me to complete this project in time.

PLACE: CHENNAI
DATE:
 CERTIFICATE

This to certify that the project titled

“MICROSCOPES” is a work done by
SAMANTHULA LAKSHANYA during the year
2024-25.

SUBMITTED ON:

INTERNAL EXAMINER:

EXTERNAL EXAMINER:
 PREFACE

In terms of the directive of the CBSE, learning of

physics should be activity oriented wherein students
besides grasping the theory could easily apply the
concepts and get it easily.

File covers the study of Microscopes.

The project file contains the theory and applications

of microscopes.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

1] INTRODUCTION
2] MAGNIFICATION
3] RESOLVING POWER
4] TYPES OF MICROSCOPES
5] LIGHT MICROSCOPE
6] SIMPLE MICROSCOPE
7] COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
8] FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE
9] ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
10] TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
11] SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
12] CONCLUSION
13] BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION

 A microscope is an instrument that can be used to

observe small object, even cells. The image of an
image is magnified through at least one lens in the
microscope. This lens bends toward the eye and
makes an object appear larger than actually it is.

 Magnification =

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 RESOLVING POWER

 Resolution Limit: The minimum distance at which

two points can be seen as separate. The smaller this
distance, the higher the resolving power of the
microscope.
 Numerical Aperture (NA): The numerical aperture of
the objective lens plays a crucial role in resolution. It
is determined by both the lens’s design and the
refractive index of the medium between the sample
and lens (e.g., air or immersion oil). Higher NA
values increase the resolving power.
 Wavelength of Light: The wavelength of light used
for imaging also impacts resolving power. Shorter
wavelengths (like blue light) offer higher resolution
than longer wavelengths (like red light) because they
can distinguish finer details. Electron microscopes
achieve extremely high resolution by using electrons
instead of light, as electrons have much shorter
wavelengths.
 The resolving power is the capacity of an optical
system to show distinct images of points lying very
close together. The resolving power of an unaided
human eye is 0.1 mm .
 The resolving power depends on the wavelength of
light and the numerical aperture of the objective lens.
 TYPES OF MICROSCOPES

 The microscopes are classified into three types based

on the source of illumination. They are the following :
 Light microscope
 Electron microscope
 X-Ray microscope

 Light microscopes are further classified as :

 Simple microscope
 Compound microscope
 Fluorescence microscope

 Electron microscope are further classified as :

 Transmission electron microscope [TEM]
 Scanning electron microscope [SEM]
 LIGHT MICROSCOPES

 A light microscope is an instrument that uses visible

light and a series of lenses to magnify small objects,
allowing us to see fine details that are not visible to
the naked eye. Here’s how it works and what it
consists of:
 Light Source: Provides the illumination that
passes through or reflects off the specimen.
 Condenser Lens: Focuses the light onto the
specimen.
 Objective Lenses: These lenses, located close to
the specimen, provide the first level of
magnification. Typical microscopes have several
objective lenses with different magnifications (e.g.,
4x, 10x, 40x).
 Ocular Lens (Eyepiece): This lens, located where
you place your eye, provides additional
magnification, usually around 10x.
 Stage: The platform where the slide with the
specimen is placed.
 Focus Knobs: Allow precise adjustments to bring
the specimen into sharp focus.
 SIMPLE MICROSCOPES

 Definition :
 A simple microscope is one that uses a single lens
for magnification, such as magnify a glass.
 It was a lens to enlarge an object through angular
magnification alone, giving the viewer an erect
enlarged virtual image.

 Principle :
 It works on the principle that when a tiny object is
placed within it focus, a virtual erect and magnified
image of the object is formed at the least distance.

 Magnification :
 The magnifying power of a simple microscope is
given by =
D
M = 1 +
F
 Parts :
 The parts of a simple microscope may be =
a) Mechanical parts -
 Metal stand
 Stage
b) Optical parts
 Mirror
 Lens
 Applications :
 It is usually used for the study of microscope
algae,fungi and biological specimens.
 It is commonly used by watchmakers and jewelers
to magnified view of fine parts.
 COMPOUND MICROSCOPES

 Definition :
 The compound microscope is an optical instrument
to magnify objects.
 It is formed by the combination of two simple
microscopes.
 It is a light microscope because light that is the
illuminating source.

 Principle :
 It works on the principle of optics. The lenses
magnify objects by stacking lens the magnification
is increased.
 The compound microscope has a light source, a
diaphragm, an object, an objective lens and an eye
piece.

 Magnifying power:
 The magnifying power of a compound microscope
is the ratio of the size of the final image to the size
of the object.
Size of final object
m =
Size of the object

 Resolving power:
 The ability of the microscope to distinguish two
very small and closely spaced objects as separate
entities is resolving power of the microscope.

 The resolving power is improved by following

factors :
 a) High numerical aperture
b) Fully opened condenser
c) Shorter wavelength of light
d) Immersion fluid like oil

 Numerical aperture NA:

 Numerical aperture is light gathering capacity of
the lens. The NA of the lens is inscribed in the
metal tube and it ranges from 0.25 to 1.4

 Parts of the compound microscope :

 The compound microscope has the following parts :
a) Reflecting mirror - Reflects light
b) Condenser - Focuses the reflect light to object
c) Objective lens - Magnifies the object
d) Eye lens - Magnifies the object’s image
e) Body tube - It is a tube with objective lens at the
lower eye piece and upper end
f) Coarse adjustment - It moves the body up, down
g) Fine adjustment - It moves the body to up and
down slowly
h) Stage - It is a platform with hole in centre
i) Stage clips - Hold the slide
j) Nose piece - Form of a rotating disc
k) Arm - Holds the body tube and coarse
adjustment
l) Inclination joint - Permits tilting of the upper
part
m)Base / Foot - It keeps the body in position
 FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPES

 A fluorescence microscope is an optical microscope

that sues fluorescence instead of or in addition to
scattering reflection and attenuation or absorption to
study the properties of organic or inorganic substances.
 Fluorescence microscope refers to any microscope
that uses fluorescence to generate an image, whether it
is a more simple set up like an epiflurosence
microscopes or a more complicated design, such as
con-focal microscope , which was optical sectioning
to get better resolution of the fluorescence image .

 Principle :
 The specimen is illuminated with light of a
specific wavelength , which is absorbs by the
fluorophores causing them to emit light of longer
wavelength.
 The illumination light is separates from the ,much
weaker emitted fluorescence through the use of
spectral emission of filter. Typical components of a
fluorescence microscope are a light source.
 ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

 Electron microscope is a system of electron magnetic

coils where electron beam is used as the source of
illumination.
 Electron microscope gives a magnification of 2000
times than that of light microscope.
 The first electron microscope designed by Knoll and
Ruska in 1932.
 There are two types of electron microscope
a)Transmission electron microscope [TEM]
b)Scanning electron microscope [SEM]
 Transmission electron microscope [TEM]

 Electron microscope in which electron beam is passed

through the specimen to produce its image is called
TEM.
 The first TEM was designed by Knoll and Ruska in
1931.

 Principle :
 The basic principle of electron microscopes is
similar to the optical principle of ordinary
compound microscope.
 Here, electron beam is substituted for light beam
and electromagnetic coils are substituted for optical
lenses.

 Instrumentation :
 The TEM consists of an electrogun,condenser
objective, amplifier ,projector lens and fluorescent
screen or photographic plate.
 Electrogun is the source of electron beam used in
this microscope. It consists of V-shaped filament.
 There are two condenser lenses just below the
electron gun . They are nothing, but
electromagnetic coils.
 The objective lens is electromagnetic coil, which is
placed below the specimen stage.
 The amplifier lens is yet other electromagnetic
coil kept just below the objective lens.
 A projector lens collects, the magnified image and
focuses it onto a fluorescent screen photographic
plate.
 Application of TEM :
 TEM is an ideal tool for the study of ultra-structure
of cells.
 It is used in the identification of plant and animal
viruses based on their structured features.

 It is employed in the localization of nucleic acid,

enzymes and protein in cells and cell organelles.
 It is used in cancer research for the cytological
observation of cancer cells
 Scanning electron microscope [SEM]
 Electron microscope that scans the surface of
specimen by passing an electron beam is called SEM .
The SEM was designed by Max Knoll in 1935.
 It scans the surface of specimen using electron beam,
more like a Xerox Machine. Scanning the surface of
paper by laser beam. It is more useful to study the
surface architecture of cell membrane, organelles and
others.

 Principle :
 The SEM also uses an electron beam as
illumination and electromagnetic coils to direct the
path of electron beam.
 When electron beam is focused on the specimen, it
produces secondary electron (SE), back scatters
electrons (BSE) and characteristic X-rays.

 Instrumentation :
 The SEM consists of an electron gun two
condenser coils, objective lens, specimen stage,
grid, scintillator, photo-multiplier tube (PMT),
Scanning circuit and X-ray detector.
 Electron gun is the source of electron beam used in
this microscope.
 They are two condenser lenses just below the
electron gun. They are electromagnetic coils.
 The specimen stage is placed just below the
deflection coil. It is in a slanting position in the
electron path.
 Separate electron detectors are attached to the
vacuum tube of SEM. Each of these electron
 detector is formed of a collector, a scintillator and
PMT.

 Application of SEM :
 SEM Is very useful to view the surface architecture
of microscopic creatures like bacteria, diatoms,
pollen grains and others.
 SEM gives the 3D structure of objects to reveal the
structure of organism and organelles.
 SEM is employed in the analysis of structural
features of compound eyes of insects.
 Hairs and scales skills on plant and animal surfaces
are characterized with the SEM.
 SEM is used to study the surface of small
archaeological specimens and fossils.
 CONCLUSION

 In conclusion, microscopes have transformed our

understanding of the natural world, opening up
realms of discovery that were once hidden from
human sight. From the early optical microscopes
that revealed cells for the first time to modern
electron microscopes capable of observing atomic
structures, these instruments have become
indispensable in fields like biology, medicine,
materials science, and nanotechnology.
Microscopes not only help us understand the basic
building blocks of life and matter but also drive
advancements in technology, health care, and
environmental science. As microscope technology
continues to evolve, it promises to uncover even
more insights into the complexities of life and
matter, pushing the boundaries of what we can see
and understand about our world.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 162_18ZC304 _2020120802523822.pdf
 1- Terence Allen. 2015. Microscopy: A Very Short
Introduction. Oxford University Press
 2- Michael Hop-pert, Cambridge University Press;
4 edition (April 13,
 2000), Microscopic Techniques in Biotechnology
1st Edition
 3- ASM'S Curriculum Recommendations:
Microbiology Majors Program.