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A Brief History of Microscopy

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Introduction to Microscopy by Means of Light, Electrons, X Rays, or Acoustics

Abstract

All kinds of microscopy have a common beginning in mankind’s intellectual goal to see better. Visible light was the first medium, and visibility was limited to the unaided eye until the first century a.d., when Seneca discovered(1) that by looking through a clear spherical flask filled with clear water “letters however small and dim are comparatively large and distinct.”(2) This idea led to simple magnifiers, whether a single large lens to accommodate both eyes together or two lenses of a smaller diameter to accommodate each eye separately.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Theodore George Rochow & Paul Arthur Tucker

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  1. Theodore George Rochow
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  2. Paul Arthur Tucker
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Rochow, T.G., Tucker, P.A. (1994). A Brief History of Microscopy. In: Introduction to Microscopy by Means of Light, Electrons, X Rays, or Acoustics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1513-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1513-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1515-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1513-9

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