The optical microscope also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that uses a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects by employing visible light. 

The specimen is placed on a stage and can be directly viewed through the two eyepieces or using the Nikon camera, which is attached to the microscope.

The sample can be illuminated in a variety of ways. Transparent objects can be irradiated from below and solid objects can be irradiated with light coming through (bright field) or around (dark field) the objective lens.  

Our optical microscope provides a range of objective lenses with different magnification which are mounted on a turret, allowing them to be rotated into place. The maximum magnification power of our optical microscopes is limited to 1000x because of the limited resolving power of visible light. Modified environments such as the use of oil can increase magnification.

Alternatives to optical microscopy which do not use visible light include scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy resulting in much greater magnifications.