We have told the story of inventing the telescope to explore things that are too far away for humanity to see in our article here. But scientists weren’t content with that, and in a similar period they invented the microscope to explore things too small for them to see. There is no definite answer to the question of who invented the microscope, because at the same time many people worked on the same instrument.
Just like all scientific discoveries and studies, the microscope is one of the best inventions over time. But strangely, there is not much difference between the first invented microscope and the one used today. Because the goal is the same, to make those tiny things visible. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the microscope and why it is important for humanity through the question of who invented the microscope.
We do not know who invented the microscope:
- Zacharias Janssen
As we mentioned in the introduction, it is not possible to say that one or another invented the microscope, but it is known that the first real microscope using two lenses was made by Dutch eyeglass maker Zacharias Janssen in the 1600s. Janssen’s microscope showed what he was examining 20 to 30 times larger than normal.
When we come to the 1660s, it is known that Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who was also a Dutchman, made a microscope with his own lenses. However, this invention looked more like a single-lens magnifying glass than a microscope. Still, it was functional and could magnify what it was examining up to 200 times.
Using this microscope, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed animal tissues, plant tissues, human sperm, blood cells, minerals and some fossils. He even presented the information he gained from these observations to the Royal Society in London.
Cell and pores are discovered:
- Robert Hooke
While Antonie van Leeuwenhoek continued these studies as an amateur, Robert Hooke, one of the leading scientists of the time, also made important studies with a similar microscope and presented them to the Royal Society in London. Robert Hooke later even opened an exhibition of these works.
Robert Hooke’s importance for science is hidden in his discoveries. He discovered the pores while examining a mushroom slice. Robert Hooke coined the term cell, which would later be considered the building blocks of all living organisms, plants and animals.
We are talking about a very primitive period for scientific studies. On top of that, many researchers refused to work and examine with microscopes because microscope glasses have been a problem for many years. Until much cleaner glasses began to be used.
A revolution for the microscope:
- Joseph Jackson Lister
Although it has been a long time since the microscope was invented, for 200 years, microscope glasses were causing aberrations, pollution and observation errors. Actually, the problem wasn’t with the microscopes, the real problem was with the microscope glasses.
Microscope glasses had two main problems; image blurring called spherical aberration and color separation called chromatic aberration. In 1830, British physicist Joseph Jackson Lister made an agreement with an instrument manufacturer, William Tulley, to produce a microscope without these two known faults.
In fact, the solution to these problems was extremely simple. Solved the problem of color distortion and image resolution by using much purer glasses. Mirrors were added to the microscope, allowing it to receive more light, thus making the images much clearer.
Microscope use in medicine:
- Rudolf Virchow
Although it was used in physics, chemistry and similar fields, the microscope was not used in medicine for a long time. Until the display problems were resolved in the 1830s. After this period, microscopes began to be actively used in laboratories in cell, cell theory and other biological research.
Between 1838 and 1839, two German scientists, Mathias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, realized that the term cell, coined many years earlier, was actually the cornerstone of plant and animal life. Theodor Schwann realized the importance of the microscope once again when he started to study medicine.
Theodor Schwann’s theory about the impact of cellular movements on human health was cared for by the German pathology researcher Rudolf Virchow. Rudolf Virchow advised his students to work with a microscope throughout his life and said that tissue and cell research plays an important role in disease findings.
Perhaps the largest of the studies using microscopes in the following years was done by Arthur Hill Hassall. Arthur Hill Hassall, by examining drinking water, discovered that it contains substances harmful to human health, and perhaps he has signed on to work that saves the lives of billions of people today.
Microscope types:
- Stereo microscope
- compound microscope
- Inverted microscope
- Metallurgical microscope
- Polarized microscope
Stereo microscope:
The stereo microscope provides 3D and stereo images with magnification from 10x to 40x. Used in manufacturing, quality control, coin collecting, science, school projects, and botany. It is a type of microscope that is small and easy to use.
Compound microscope:
The compound microscope, called the biological microscope; It is used in laboratories, schools, wastewater treatment plants, veterinary offices, and in the fields of histology and pathology. A sample is placed on a slide in a compound microscope and flattened with a coverslip.
Inverted microscope:
inverted microscope; It provides 40x, 100x and sometimes 200x and 400x magnifications. Inverted microscopes are used to view live samples in a petri dish. Its usage areas are mostly live cell imaging, developmental biology, cell biology, neuroscience and microbiology.
Metallurgical microscope:
Metallurgical microscopes are powerful microscopes developed to view samples that do not allow light to pass through. It provides 50x, 100x, 200x and sometimes 500x magnification thanks to the reflection of light. It is used even in micron level inspections.
Polarized microscope:
Polarized microscopes are a type of microscope that uses polarized light to study chemicals, rocks, and minerals. It is widely used by geologists, petrologists, chemists and the pharmaceutical industry. Ideal for viewing birefringent materials.
We examined the history of the microscope and the types of microscopes used today through the question of who invented the microscope used to see the invisible. It is truly astonishing that the invention of a sober optician is shaping today’s world of science.
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