The compound microscope consists of optical and structural parts which together are used to magnify objects that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. The three main parts of a microscope are the head, which holds the lenses; the base, which supports the microscope; and the arm, which connects them together and is used to carry the microscope.
Eyepiece
The eyepiece is also known as the ocular and is what you look through at the top of the microscope. A standard eyepiece has a 10x zoom but can be replaced to offer a 5x to 30x zoom. The eyepiece is held in the eyepiece tube, which sits above the objective lens. In a binocular microscope, the tube can swivel so multiple people with differently spaced eyes can view.
Nose Piece
The nose piece rests below the eyepiece tube and holds the objective lenses. A standard microscope houses three, four or five objective lenses on the nose piece and range from 4x to 100x zoom. The nose piece can spin to select different power objective lenses.
Focus Knobs
There are three focus knobs on a standard microscope. The course focus knob is used to bring the object being viewed into focus and the fine focus knob is used to increase the detail of that object. These two knobs are found on the arm of the microscope and are usually coaxial. The condenser knob is at the base of the microscope and controls how much light is focused on the object being viewed.
Stage
The stage is where the object being viewed is placed under the lens. Stage clips are used to hold the object or slide in place while viewing. A high power microscope has a mechanical stage to move the object, while a lower power microscope requires a person to move the object manually. The hole in the middle of the stage is the aperture, which allows light onto the object.
Illuminator
The illuminator is the light source for the microscope, which is found at the the base. The condenser is used to gather and focus the light from the illuminator onto the object being viewed; the iris diaphragm controls the amount of that light that reaches the object.
Tags: being viewed, object being, object being viewed, objective lenses, eyepiece tube, focus knob, focus knob used