Search Results: Microscope

The microscope was one of the most significant inventions of the Scientific Revolution, opening up completely new and miniaturised worlds. The first microscopes were invented in the first quarter of the 17th century in the Netherlands, but...

A model of the microscope created by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Made by the Boerhaave Museum, Leiden, 1983. The microscope used a glass bead as a magnifier, giving a much greater magnification than other types of lenses available...

The compound monocular microscope of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). Made by Nachet et fils, 1861-70. (Science Museum, London)

Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was an English scientist, architect, and natural philosopher who became a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. Hooke conducted his scientific experiments outside the auspices of universities, and he was a great...

The Scientific Revolution (1500-1700) was driven by several key inventions, all scientific instruments that became essential to achieving a greater understanding of the world around us. With instruments like the telescope, microscope, thermometer...

A microscope of the type invented by the English scientist Robert Hooke (1635-1703). Made between 1671 and 1700. The device on the left, designed by Hooke, is a scotoscope which helped better illuminate the specimen under view in the microscope...

An early 18th-century microscope designed and made by John Marshall. It is a compound microscope, that is, it uses three lenses. Made of brass, wood, and other materials. (Science Museum, London)

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was the most important microscopist of the Scientific Revolution. The Dutchman made over 500 microscopes, many with a magnification far superior to contemporary models. His discoveries include bacteria...

A microscope with boxfoot made by George Adams in 1738. Based on a model designed by Edward Culpeper (1670-1737). The concave mirror at the base illuminated the specimen better than a flat mirror. (Science Museum, London)

A pen and ink drawing by Robert Hooke (1635-1703) first published in his Micrographia in 1665. This page shows a bluefly seen under a microscope. (National Library of Wales)