A microscope is an optical or electronic instrument used to magnify tiny objects or to observe microscopic structures. By focusing a beam of light or electrons, details that cannot be seen directly by the naked eye are clearly visible. It has an irreplaceable role in science, medicine, industry and other fields. The following is a detailed introduction to the microscope:
I. Historical Development of Microscopy
Early Attempts 11727798400At the end of the 116th century, Dutch eyewear manufacturer Hans Janssen and his son Zacharias Janssen are credited with inventing the earliest compound microscope (composed of multiple lenses).
17th century, Robert Hooke used a microscope to observe cork cells and first proposed the concept of "cells"; Antonie van Leeuwenhoek improved the microscope and observed microorganisms, which is known as the "father of microbiology".
Breakthrough of modern microscopes
19th century, the resolution of optical microscopes was significantly improved by the improvement of lens manufacturing technology. 11727798400In the 1930s, electron microscopes (such as transmission electron microscopy TEM, scanning electron microscopy SEM) were invented, breaking through the limit of optical diffraction and reaching nanoscale resolution.
21st century, super-resolution microscopes (such as STED, PALM/STORM) won the Nobel Prize to achieve nanoscale imaging of optical microscopes.