Courtesy :Master of Science in Microbiology (M.Sc.Microbiology)
The microscopic scale (from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrons) ‘small’, and σκοπέω (skopéō) ‘to look (at); examine, inspect’) is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale between the macroscopic scale and the quantum scale. Microscopic units and measurements are used to classify and describe very small objects. One common microscopic length scale unit is the micrometre (also called a micron) (symbol: μm), which is one millionth of a meter. # ISO certification in India
History
Whilst compound microscopes were first developed in the 1590s, the significance of the microscopic scale was only truly established in the 1600s when Marcello Malpighi and Antoine van Leeuwenhoek microscopically observed frog lungs and microorganisms. As microbiology was established, the significance of making scientific observations at a microscopic level increased. # ISO certification in India
Published in 1665, Robert Hooke’s book Micrographic details his microscopic observations including fossils insects, sponges, and plants, which was possible through his development of the compound microscope. During his studies of cork, he discovered plant cells and coined the term ‘cell’.
Prior to the use of the micro- prefix, other terms were originally incorporated into the International metric system in 1795, such as centi- which represented a factor of 10^-2, and milli-, which represented a factor of 10^-3.
Over time the importance of measurements made at the microscopic scale grew, and an instrument named the Millionometre was developed by watch-making company owner Antoine LeCoultre in 1844. This instrument had the ability to precisely measure objects to the nearest micrometer.
The British Association for the Advancement of Science committee incorporated the micro- prefix into the newly established CGS system in 1873.
The micro- prefix was finally added to the official SI system in 1960, acknowledging measurements that were made at an even smaller level, denoting a factor of 10^-6.
Biology
By convention, the microscopic scale also includes classes of objects that are most commonly too small to see but of which some members are large enough to be observed with the eye. Such groups include the Cladocera, planktonic green algae of which Volvox is readily observable, and the protozoa of which Stentor can be easily seen without aid. The submicroscopic scale similarly includes objects that are too small to see with an optical microscope. # ISO certification in India
Thermodynamics
In thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, the microscopic scale is the scale at which we do not measure or directly observe the precise state of a thermodynamic system – such detailed states of a system are called microstates. We instead measure thermodynamic variables at a macroscopic scale, i.e. the microstate.
Levels of Microscopic Scale
Cay foraminifera sand from Warbler Island Torres Strait, under a light microscope. The shape and texture in each individual grain is made visible through the microscope.
As the microscopic scale is covers any object that cannot be seen by the naked eye, yet is visible under a microscope, the range of objects that fall under this scale can be as small as an atom, visible underneath a transmission electron microscope. Microscope types are often distinguished by their mechanism and application, and can be divided into two general categories. # ISO certification in India
Light microscopes
Amongst light microscopes, the utilized objective lens dictates how small of an object can be seen. These varying objective lenses can change the resolving power of the microscope, which determines the shortest distance that somebody is able to distinguish two separate objects through that microscope lens. It is important to note that the resolution between two objects varies from individual to individual, but the strength of the objective lenses can be quantified. # ISO certification in India
The most basic microscope used by Antoine van Leeuwenhoek in the 1660s, the Simple microscope, uses a singular lens. The user is therefore limited to the magnification allowed by the objective lens. As such, it is usually used to view non-complex items such as maps.
Compound light microscopes have a number of variations, including Bright-Field, Dark-Field, Phase-contrast and Fluorescent microscope. Each type functions to serve different purposes, but are all able to have a range of objective lenses, between 4x and 1000x magnification. Due to their mechanisms, they also have an improved resolving power and contrast in comparison to simple microscopes, and can be used to view the structure, shape and motility of a cell and its organisms, which can be as small as 0.1 micrometers. # ISO certification in India
