Light microscopes, also known as a compound microscope, are the most simple. The condenser focuses light rays, which normally come from a lamp pointed at the mirror. It focuses light onto the object to be viewed. Light travels through the specimen and up to two lenses, one of which forms the image while the other greatly magnifies it so that we are able to see the detail in the specimen. An important part of how the microscope works is the fact that light travels through the specimen. For this to take place, the material must be cut very thinly. The material is then stained so that the different parts of the material are visible. A dye such as methylene blue is used because this

dyes the material without killing it. Other dyes require the material to be killed first.

Air inside the microscope would destroy the electron beam, as air molecules interrupt the electrons path so the microscope must be under a vacuum, and all water must be removed. This is a difficult procedure as this could change the shape of the structure and give us unrealistic results. One way of combating this difficulty is instantly freezing the specimen in liquid nitrogen. The shape of the specimen is not changed as it is dehydrated. The tissue is broken up and a mask is formed of the tissue, it is coated with a heavy metal to strengthen it. This is called freeze etching and the results are very good.

The size of the magnification and the resolution of a microscope determine the size of the image and the detail in which we see the image. Resolution and magnitude are two different things that are explained here. Magnification is the number of times bigger the image

Some common words found in the essay are:
Electron Microscopy, electron microscopes, produce clearer, light travels specimen, light microscope, light travels, microscope light, increased image, electron beam, focuses light, travels specimen, image resolution,
Approximate Word count = 657
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)