What is the difference between a microscope and a dissecting scope

Divide the field number by the magnification number to determine the diameter of your microscope's field of view. To figure the total magnification of an image that you are viewing through the microscope is really quite simple. To get the total magnification take the power of the objective 4X, 10X, 40x and multiply by the power of the eyepiece, usually 10X.

The simplest optical microscope is the magnifying glass and is good to about ten times 10x magnification. The compound microscope has two systems of lenses for greater magnification, 1 the ocular, or eyepiece lens that one looks into and 2 the objective lens, or the lens closest to the object.

To calculate the total magnification of the compound light microscope multiply the magnification power of the ocular lens by the power of the objective lens. For instance, a 10x ocular and a 40x objective would have a x total magnification. The highest total magnification for a compound light microscope is x. Dissecting microscopes provide low magnification usually 10x - 40x is a common range and they are used to view detail in objects you can already see with the naked eye. Dissection Microscope Resolution : Just like in a compound microscope , the wavelength of light limits resolution.

This microscope does not use light to see through the specimen, but uses light to aid in viewing the specimen under magnification. The resolution of the dissecting or stereoscope is about nanometers. A compound microscope has multiple objective lenses and one eyepiece while a dissecting microscope has a single objective lens and two eyepiece lenses. A compound microscope has high magnification power up to X; on the other hand, the dissecting microscope has a low magnification power of up to 70x.

This is around one tenth the useful resolution of a normal compound optical microscope. What is the difference between compound microscope and dissecting microscope? A compound microscope has high magnification power up to X; on the other hand, the dissecting microscope has a low magnification power of up to 70x. A Compound Microscope is the one that uses several objective lenses with different magnification powers to view specimens.

It uses light to observe the specimen. Thus specimen should be thin enough for light to pass through it. Staining is also required to observe different sections of a specimen under a compound microscope. It has a magnification power of X to about 1,X and shows detailed features of specimens. It has a shorter working distance of 4mm. A Dissecting Microscope is also known as a stereomicroscope. It has a lower magnification power of 70x.

Light can be passed through from underneath the sample, but also from the top or side using an external light source. However, the magnification power of the dissecting microscope is less powerful than that of a light microscope. This document may be freely reproduced and distributed for non-profit educational purposes. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Join The Community Request new password. Main menu About this Site Table of Contents.

Practices of Science: Microscope Use. How a Microscope Works Both dissecting and compound light microscopes work by capturing and redirecting light reflected and refracted from a specimen.

Compound microscopes also capture light that is transmitted through a specimen. Light is captured by bi-convex lenses above the specimen; these are called objective lenses. Compound microscopes have several objective lenses of varying strengths, magnifying from 40 to 1, times. The point at which the light is redirected -- or converged -- is called the focal point.

The image at the focal point will appear magnified to the observer. The distance between the focal point and the first lens is called the working distance. Microscopes with a smaller working distance have greater magnifying power than those with a longer one.