Microscope

A microscope is an instrument that makes small objects or details visible by producing an enlarged image or otherwise resolving features too small for unaided vision.

Optical microscope: A microscope that uses visible light and lenses to form an enlarged image. Its objective and eyepiece lenses magnify an image of the specimen.
Magnification: The ratio between an image's apparent or measured size and an object's actual size. Microscopes enlarge apparent images, but enlargement alone does not guarantee detail.
Histology: The study of the microscopic structure of biological tissues. Microscopes reveal tissue organization in prepared sections.
Hans Lippershey: A Dutch spectacle-maker associated with an early patent application for a telescope in 1608. His period's lens-making helped create the instrument-making context for early microscopes.
Stereomicroscope: An optical microscope that provides a three-dimensional view of relatively large specimens at low magnification. It favors depth perception and handling space over the fine resolution of compound microscopes.
Electron microscope: A microscope that uses electron beams and electromagnetic lenses to image specimens at very high resolution. Electrons replace visible light to reveal much finer specimen details.
Resolution (microscopy): The ability of an imaging system to distinguish two nearby features as separate. It sets the smallest separation a microscope can reveal.
Cell biology: The study of cells, including their structures, functions, and interactions. Microscopy makes cells and many of their internal structures observable.
Galileo Galilei: An Italian scientist who built telescopes and also made early compound microscopes. His microscope work helped bring the instrument into scientific use.
Confocal microscopy: A light-microscopy method that rejects out-of-focus light using a spatial pinhole. Its optical sectioning distinguishes it from conventional wide-field imaging.

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