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Oddly enough, the compound microscope was invented before the single lens microscope. But the instruments were not very good to start with and much more could be seen with very small lenses of short focal length.

In about 1597 two Dutch eyeglass makers, Zaccharias Janssen and his son Hans were experimenting with lenses in a tube. They observed that nearby objects viewed through two lenses in line were magnified. Their device was the first compound microscope. However, their lenses were rather large and the magnification obtained was only about 10X.

Galileo also designed a compound microscope, but it was only useful for reflected light. Robert Hooke built the first useable British compound microscope in about 1655.

The single lens microscopes made by a Dutch amateur lens grinder Antonie van Leeuwenhoek were far superior to the early compound instruments. Van Leeuwenhoek, in about 1670,developed a method for grinding very small glass lenses. They were tiny, of the order of a millimeter in diameter, and could magnify several hundred times. Mounted in a brass plate these lenses could use transmitted light to image objects in a drop of water on the end of a metal pin. Screws were used to move the pin and focus the specimen. Van Leeuwenhoek was probably influenced by Robert Hooke's Micrographia (1665) which he might have seen when he visited London in about 1668. Amongst his vast number of discoveries were bacteria, sperm, blood cells and a myriad of protozoa. He also laid the foundations of plant anatomy. His discoveries were reported to the Royal Society in a series of famous letters. Van Leeuwenhoek made hundreds of microscopes over the years and many people copied them, including Hooke himself. Nine of van Leeuwenhoek's original microscopes still exist today.

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Related Questions

What was Zacharias Janssens first microscope called?

Zacharias Janssen's first microscope was called the "simple microscope" or "single lens microscope." It consisted of a single convex lens and was an early version of the compound microscope.


What year was the first compound microscope made in?

The first usable compound microscope people used was about 1655 by Robert hooke! :)


Name of first microscope?

The first microscope was called the "single lens microscope" and was invented by Zacharias Janssen in the late 16th century.


Who developed the compound microscope?

Robert Hooke invented the first compound microscope.


What is a light microscope that has two more lenses?

A compound microscope


Which came first the compound light microscope or the electron microscope?

The compound light microscope came first, dating back to the late 16th century. The electron microscope was developed much later in the early 20th century.


Who invented the modern compound microscope?

The modern compound microscope was invented by Zacharias Janssen in the late 16th century, in collaboration with his father Hans. They were spectacle makers from the Netherlands who were credited with the creation of the first compound microscope.


Who is Zacarias Jansen?

He is the first inventor to invent the compound microscope


When was First microscope was invented?

The simple one-lens microscope was invented around the 1100's. The compound microscope was invented in 1590.


What year did Hans and zacharias janssen make the first compound microscope?

They discovered the microscope in 1595


First person who devised the microscope?

The first compound or multi -lens microscope was developed in Holland in 1590 by Hans Janssen and Zacharias.


What came first electron microscope or light microscope?

compound light microscope - cell theory - electron microscope