How would the field of science have developed without the invention of the microscope? Although magnification by simple lenses has been practiced since ancient times, the first compound microscope wasn't discovered until the late 16th century. While experimenting with a pair of lenses mounted on a sliding tube, Dutch spectacle makers -- Zaccharias Janssen and his son Hans -- discovered that nearby objects appeared enlarged. In 1609, Galileo improved upon their experiments and worked out the principal of lenses with a focusing device. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Anton van Leeuwenhoek of Holland, often referred to as the father of microscopy, developed lenses that could magnify objects up to 270 times and made numerous biologic
al discoveries with microscopes he built. By the early 1900s, the compound microscope had evolved to its present form. Although sophisticated, special-purpose, modified microscopes have emerged since then, modern light microscopes still cannot distinguish objects smaller than half the wavelength of light and have limited magnification capabilities. In the 1930s, German scientists Max Knott and Ernst Ruska introduced the electron microscope, which utilizes an electron beam with a smaller wavelength. This invention now allows scientists to magnify at levels up to 500,000 times.
al discoveries with microscopes he built. By the early 1900s, the compound microscope had evolved to its present form. Although sophisticated, special-purpose, modified microscopes have emerged since then, modern light microscopes still cannot distinguish objects smaller than half the wavelength of light and have limited magnification capabilities. In the 1930s, German scientists Max Knott and Ernst Ruska introduced the electron microscope, which utilizes an electron beam with a smaller wavelength. This invention now allows scientists to magnify at levels up to 500,000 times.
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