A Beginner’s Guide to the Use and Care of Student Microscopes

Using the student microscope may start as a complicated endeavour for beginners like students or children. However, if they keep these guidelines in mind, they will find experimenting using microscopes fun as well as educational. A few lessons about the care and use of the student microscope is in order for the beginning microscopist. With proper care, the optical qualities of a student’s microscopy equipment should be retained for many years.

* Keep the student microscope clean and in good working condition. See to it that the accessories and parts of the microscope kit are well-organized so that it wouldn’t be hard to look for something in the middle of work.

* When carrying or transporting a student microscope, pick it up by the frame, or often the back vertical arm of a compound microscope. Never use the part which has the microscope stage or head.

* The focusing adjustment can only move the tube higher or lower by a few millimetres. Avoid turning the focusing adjustment too far. In case the limits are reached, turn the coarse focusing knob to its middle adjustment.

* Adjust the tube from a low to high position. Never do it otherwise especially with high-power objectives because it may touch the preparation (on the microscope slide) and damage the microscope objective. So turn the coarse focus so the objective is almost touching the glass slide, then, begin looking through the eyepieces and adjust the focusing knobs so the slide is moving farther away from the objective. Most compound light microscopes have stage travel limit stops, but don’t always count on this to protect your objective and slide.

* Diffused light is the best illumination. Direct sunlight can cause damage to the eyes and the flooding of light can erase the fine details of the preparation. Bright light also damages the mirror and the enamel coating of the microscope. Most of all, it may discolor and bleach out the specimen on the prepared microscope slide.

* When looking into the monocular student microscope, keep both eyes open. (A monocular microscope has only one eyetube. A binocular microscope has two eyetubes.) Closing one eye while looking into the monocular compound microscope with the other is very tiring and it prevents seeing other structures of the specimen. Learn how to see through the monocular microscope with one eye. Practice disregarding the images that the other free eye feeds in your brain.

* Working in a cold room may cause fogging of the student microscope lens and microscope eyepieces from breathing. As much as possible, work in room temperature.

* Be careful to not get any reagents on the front lens. Strong acids and alkalis may cause the objective damage and render it useless. When using cover-glasses, choose those which are not too small. Be sure to only use the immersion oil on the lens marked “oil”, typically, but not always, it’s the 100x objective. Some lens are also marked “gly” for glycerine immersion.

* Reagents, especially acids, should not be left near the microscope uncovered. In line with this, the microscope should not be stored with reagents in the same cabinet. The vapour coming from the reagents causes damage to metals and optical glasse and lens and may harm the microscope in the long run.

* The eyepiece lenses should only be unscrewed or removed when it has to be cleaned. The objective lenses, on the other hand, should never be unscrewed. The objective lenses seldom needed cleaning and when it does, it should be sent to a microscope repair shop or technician for proper cleaning. However, the 100x oil immersion lens may be cleaned by the microscope user using a lens cloth as found in optometry supply stores.

* In cleaning the objective system’s front lens, avoid using alcohol or xylol because this will cause fogging on the lenses. Alcohol can also cause damage to the microscope’s enamel or lacquer. The cleaning cloth should be dampened with distilled water. Oil smudges can be removed by dampening the cloth with a little benzine. Use an artist brush or linen cloth when dusting off the student microscope.

* The student should avoid using oil in lubricating the coarse adjusting screw or the tube carrier or else dust will accumulate more and become dirty. Use a clean vaseline in cleaning and lubricating the microscope.

* After using your student microscope, make sure to return it in its case or cover it with a plastic cover. A dusty microscope may reduce the efficiency of the instrument and cause damage.