In a Elab, why must you be careful using hte high power lens in a microscope?

Question

have you done a elab before, there is a tiny e on the slide and you have to put it in the microscope...itll look spongy looking and goes in the opposite direction you move it to..............anyways my question is that why do you have to be careful using the high power lens in a microscope???

sorry if its long and confusing but i need help asap

Answer 1

Depends - some of the lenses are long enough to actually run down onto and crack the slide or the coverslip. Very high power lenses are often "oil immersion" lenses, where you run the lens down into a drop of oil on the cover slip. If you don't have that drop of oil there, the lens can be scratched, and that's a big expense to replace.

Answer 2

Hi. A really high powered lens may use a drop of clear oil to improve light transmission, but the focusing technique is still the same. Move the lens as close as possible while looking at the side. Make sure you know which way to turn the focus knob to move the lens away from the cover slide or specimen. Slowly move the lens away from the slide while looking through the microscope. The specimen will come into focus at one plane. By moving the lens up or down you can examine the top and sides of whatever you are looking at.