Why is it difficult to see in focus on all parts of a large organism under high magnification?

Answer 1

Light microscopes require light to be reflected from the base of the microscope, up through the organism, and into the eye. If an object you are trying to view is too thick, the light will not pass through the specimen as easily. Also, thicker objects cause more light to refract so that less of it passes through the pinholes, thus making it difficult to focus on.

Here's a helpful website on microscope optics:
http://web.uvic.ca/ail/techniques/scope_basics.html

Confocal Microscopes can focus on thicker images because they use laser technology, and spinning disk confocal microscopes can actually view live cells. However, high magnification on these types of microscopes often requires either a water or oil immersion lens.

Answer 2

At a high magnification, the image of the organism is 'zoomed in', and it is possible to see the image in great detail. However, this means that you're only looking at a very small part of the organism -- in order to see more, you need to 'zoom out'. It's a trade - off between seeing a small area in great detail, or seeing a large area in less detail.

Answer 3

When using high magnification, the depth of field decreases, making it challenging to keep all parts of a large organism in focus simultaneously. This is known as the depth of field limitation and requires adjusting the focus manually or using techniques like image stacking to capture sharp details across the entire organism.