Microscope Telescope and their magnifying powers

Introduction

Microscopes and telescopes are two powerful instruments that have greatly aided our current understanding of the micro-and macrocosm. The development of these gadgets resulted in major breakthroughs in fields like physics, astronomy and biology, to name a few. 

Microscopes and telescopes both work by allowing individuals to see items that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Telescopes, on the other hand, are meant to observe distant, faint objects and have larger lens diameters, greater focal lengths and interchangeable eyepieces. Aside from that, both tools magnify the object of interest using convex and concave lenses. Despite the fact that both devices utilise comparable scientific concepts, their distinctions are critical to their capacity to achieve their goals.

Microscopes

Microscopes were invented by eyeglass makers in the Netherlands and Denmark in the early 1600s. 

The simplest compound microscope is made up of two convex lenses. The objective lens is the first lens and it has magnification values ranging from 5 to 100. The lenses in ordinary microscopes are positioned in such a way that the sample remains in focus when you change between objectives. Parfocal objectives are those that are organised in this manner. The eyepiece, also known as the ocular, is made up of numerous lenses that move inside a cylindrical tube. The eyesight is provided by both the objective lens and the eyepiece. Both lenses lead to the total magnification of a microscope, which is used to magnify small objects.

Furthermore, because the eye cannot concentrate on objects or images that are too close, the final expanded image is created in a location that is far away from the viewer to be easily perceived.

The magnifying power of a compound microscope

The power of a microscope is the product of the powers of the ocular (eyepiece) and the objective lens and is given by,

 m=v0/u0(1+D/fe)

 where l is the length of the tube

           D is the least distance of clear vision

           f0​ is the focal length of the objective

           fe​ is the focal length of the eyepiece

A simple microscope is a magnifying glass with a short focal length and a double convex lens. The hand lens and reading lens are two examples of this type of equipment. When an object is kept close to the lens, the image created by its principal focus is upright and larger than the original thing. Because the produced image is virtual, it cannot be displayed on a screen in the same way that a real image can.

To magnify the image of a specimen in simple microscopes, a biconvex lens is used. These lenses are now commonly made up of two glass parts with colour-correcting capabilities. The magnified picture grows in size as the object gets closer to the lens.

The magnifying power of a simple microscope

Because a simple microscope has one objective lens, its magnification potential is severely limited. The magnification capacity of most basic microscopes is only 10x.

The magnifying power of a simple microscope is given by:

M=1+D/F

• F = the focal length of the convex lens
• D = the least distance of the distinct vision

Telescope

A telescope is an optical tool that uses curved mirrors to collect and focus light from the night sky in order to see distant objects that are not visible to the naked eye.

Because a concave mirror behaves like a convex lens, a telescope can use a concave mirror as its first component or objective. In optical instruments, to make them more portable or to transfer light to cameras and other sensor systems, flat mirrors are commonly used. 

There are numerous advantages to employing mirrors for telescope objectives instead of lenses. Mirrors may be built far larger than lenses, allowing them to collect vast volumes of light, such as that required to observe distant objects. Telescopes, like microscopes, can also use frequencies of various ranges from the electromagnetic spectrum. Large and highly flat mirrors have very long focal lengths, allowing for considerable angular magnification.

Refractors and reflectors are the two primary types of telescopes. The type of telescope is determined by the objective, which is the part of the telescope that collects light. The target of a refractor telescope is a glass lens. The front of the telescope has a glass lens that bends (refracts) light as it goes through it. The objective of a reflector telescope is a mirror. Light is reflected off (reflected) as it hits the mirror, which is close to the back of the telescope.

Refractor telescopes

A lens gathers and focuses light in a refractor telescope. Refractors were the first telescopes to be made. Small telescopes offered in department stores, as well as those used in rifle scopes, are refractors.

Reflector telescopes

A mirror gathers and focuses light in a reflector telescope. Because all celestial bodies (including those in our solar system) are so far away, all of their light beams reach the Earth in parallel. The reflector telescope’s mirror has a parabola form because the light beams are parallel to each other. The parallel light rays are focused to a single point by the parabolic-shaped mirror. Because of the benefits of reflector telescopes over refractor telescopes, all current research telescopes and big amateur telescopes are of the reflector type.

The magnifying power of the telescope:

The ratio of the angle subtended at the eye by the image formed at the least distance of distinct vision to the angle subtended at the eye by the object lying at infinity is the magnifying power of a telescope.

M = fo/fe(1+fe/D)

fo= the object’s focal length

fe= focal length of the eyepiece

D= least distance of the distinct vision

Conclusion

An objective lens is used in both microscopes and telescopes. This collects light from the real object or scene that the observer is looking at. It concentrates on light rays to help us view a crisp picture, usually things our naked eye can’t see.

They’re both experts in magnification. They allow us to get a closer look at something that is difficult to see with the naked eye. It gives the impression that the image is larger and clearer. Under a microscope, the movement of cells can be observed and via a telescope, one can watch the movement of shooting stars in the sky.