I cannot find anything under my microscope. What is wrong?
Generally speaking, the problem is fairly simple. Either the objective
lenses are dirty, the microscope is out of focus or there is too
much light illuminating the sample.
If none of these appear
to be the case, talk to your microscope supplier.
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How can I clean the lenses on my microscope?
Use a Q-tip, soft lint-free cloth or lens paper with either some water
or special lens cleaner solution. Do not, under any circumstances, use
a household window cleaning solution. These solutions can damage the
seals resulting in lenses which are out of alignment causing image
difficulties when using your microscope. Gently clean the lens in the
eyepiece and on each of the objectives. Do not try to clean the inside
of any lenses, leave it for someone with more experience instead.
Store the microscope away from dust and always use the dust
cover when the microscope is not in use. This should reduce dust
problems significantly.
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How do I use a microscope?
Your microscope usually has 3 or 4 different objectives. Magnification
increases as the number on the objective increases. This also means that
as you increase your magnification, you reduce the field of view (area
which you can see at any one time). In order to focus the microscope
you should start with the smallest objective.
The microscope should provide you with a lever or knob with which you
can adjust the intensity of the light. With a small magnification you
need very little light to illuminate the sample. As the magnification is
increased you may need to increase the light as well. Avoid using too
much light as this will make it very difficult to find the sperm cells;
they become "washed out" and appear to be absent.
Place your slide with cover-glass so that one edge of the glass is
lined up in the middle of your viewing area. Gently adjust the coarse
focus until you see the edge of the glass appear. Use the fine focus
to make this edge appear as clear as possible. Make sure the edge is
in the middle of your viewing area before going up to the next
magnification.
When you increase the magnification adjust only the fine focus until the
line appears again. Once you are at the proper magnification, and the
edge appears clear, the slide can be moved so that the sample is in the
viewing area. Remember: when you are looking through the microscope
you are seeing a mirror image of the sample. If you wish to move
the sample to the left in the viewing area, the slide itself must
be moved to the right.
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Why can I not see anything with the 100R objective?
The 100R objective is an oil objective lens. In order to use this
objective you must use oil immersion. This requires special oil and
cleaning procedures. Talk to your supplier for more information.
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