Light microscope
The light microscope uses light energy to see small objects on a slide through an eyepiece. The direction of light upon to the slide, focused by lenses, magnifies the size of the objects to the viewer[1].
Advantages
- Inexpensive to buy and operate
- Relatively small
- Both living and dead specimens can be viewed
- Little expertise is required in order to set up and use the microscope
- The original colour of the specimen can be viewed
Disadvantages
- Maximum magnification of 1500x
- Specimen may be disfigured during preparation to be viewed under the microscope
- The resolving power is 1 nm for biological specimens
- Only has a resolution of 0.2 μm - which is relatively poor in comparison to other microscopes