Microscopy studies the enlargement of the image of objects too small to be properly seen by the unaided

eye. Microscopy accomplishes its task making use of the radiations emitted, absorbed, transmitted, or
reflected by the specimen to be observed. The nature of the radiation specifies the type of microscopy:
electron microscopy, x-ray microscopy, acoustic microscopy, etc. The visible part of electromagnetic
spectrum is the type of radiation used by optical microscopy.
Rough magnifying glasses were used in ancient times, but the evolution of modern microscopes started in the
seventeenth century.

THIN LENSES

The foundation of the magnifying power of lenses is the refraction phenomenon. A light beam crossing the surface
between two media of different optical densities is bent

n1 sin y1 ¼ n2 sin y2; where y1 and y2 are the angles formed by the ray and the normal to the surface at the point
of incidence into mediums 1 and 2, respectively, and n1 and n2 are the refractive indexes.
OPTICAL RESOLUTION

The ability of an optical instrument to produce separable images of different points on an object is limited. The
resolving power of a lens is a quantitative measure of this ability: points closer than the limit of resolution cannot
be distinguished as separate points.