TITLE:
A Voyage to Beyond the Human Eye by Microscope, Leeuwenheok's Invention
AUTHORS:
Nasser Pouyan
KEYWORDS:
Microscope, Leeuwenhoek
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
15,
2016
ABSTRACT: Microscope, an instrument used for obtaining magnified image of small
objects. The term of microscope was coined by Johannes Faber of Bamberg. The identity
of its inventor has not been clearly established. Aristotle about 24 centuries
before Leeuwenhoek described the working of microscope in some detail. The
earliest records of optical lenses date from the late 13th century,
when spectacles came into use. Roger Bacon, in his “Opus Magnus” of 1268 spoke
of the use of lenses for magnifying objects. About 4 centuries later
Leeuwenhoek built over 200 simple microscopes and became the father of protozoology and bacteriology. Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Holland. He is commonly
known as the father of microbiology and considered the first microbiologist. He
was raised in Delft, worked as a linen draper in his youth and founded his own
shop (1654) and made a name for himself in municipal politics, and eventually developed
an interest in lens making. Leeuwenhoek with his simple microscope for which he
ground the lenses, achieved magnification of 270 times. Anton van Leeuwenhoek,
during the last quarter of the seventeenth century with exquisitely polished
homemade lenses, studied a great variety of natural materials such as pond
water, vinegar, and blood. He observed protozoa (microscopic animals) in
mixture of pepper and water, and bacteria in scrapings of human teeth. He
described discovery of “animalcules”, as he called them, raised protozoa,
bacteria, blood corpuscles, spermatozoa and the striated fibers found in bundles
in voluntary muscles, and many other microscopic creatures and structures. He
also had many findings in dentistry. Leeuwenhoek earned for himself a place of
honor as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London. During his lifetime he sent
375 scientific papers to the Royal Society and 27 papers to the French Académie
des Sciences. After the creation of the microscope it evolved slowly, hampered
both by the lack of theoretical understanding and mechanical technology needed
for making precision instruments. About 1800 the compound microscopes of the
better makers began to resemble their modern counterparts. In 20th century
the fundamental principles which were discovered led immediately to the
development of oil-immersion objective and remain as the basis of microscope
design.