Students and researchers are expected to know how to properly use bright field microscopes as an aid in their respective field of study. This article describes the right way of using this type of microscope.

Bright field microscopes are usually binocular microscopes. The first thing a person has to do when using bright field microscopes is to carefully take it out of its shelf or box with one hand on the base of the microscope and the other on the arm. Carelessly transporting microscopes are the main cause of damage. Start the proper use of microscope by properly handling the device.

To start using a bright field microscope, just unwind the power cord and plug it to a working power supply. Once that is done, check the microscope’s eyepiece and see if it is pointed back above the arm. This is the normal storage position of microscopes. So if you just took it out of the shelf, then you have to do the step below.

Loosen the screw that holds the microscope’s binocular head. Rotate it entirely until it reaches a good 180 degrees. After doing so, very gently and very carefully tighten back the screw so that the head won’t fall off. If you have done it right, then you should be able to notice that you now have a good view of the microscope’s stage, including the sub-stage. The knobs used for focusing on the specimen are also at a convenient place and are well within an arm’s length.

Now you should be ready to select the right magnification objective that matches the specimen you are going to view. Get the slide where your specimen is properly mounted and put it on the bright field microscope’s stage. Make sure that the slide is locked in its place through the holder.

Try rotating the focusing knob of the condenser and slowly move it to the highest position. There is a perfect location for the condenser, but it is not fixed. It varies from one objective to another. Move the microscope’s condenser accordingly so that you will have a better view of the sample. This is necessary if you need to change objectives throughout the observation process.

Next, look for the microscope’s dimmer switch. You might need to adjust the microscope’s lighting level until you reach the right intensity. You should be ready to look down right into the eyepiece of the microscope at this point. As you do it, adjust them to match the diopter and interpupillary distance. Some microscopes have a knob for this particular type of adjustment.

Because bright field microscopes are binocular in nature, calibrate one eyepiece at a time. Look through the tubes with your left eye closed. Using the adjustment knobs, both for fine and course, make sure you obtain the best possible focus with each eye. To ensure that you do it right, repeat the same steps with the other eye. Make sure you have a fairly sharp image on both eye pieces individually.

There are other adjusting knobs that you might want to understand. The coarse adjustment tension for example, can be tightened or loosened up using an adjustment ring. Adjusting it will cause the stage to remain stationary right after you are done with all the focusing tasks.

Bright field microscopes have preset devices too. If you want to change slides rapidly, these things are going to be helpful. But they are not to be used by first-time users. Using the preset device improperly may cause damage to the focus. And that type of damage certainly is very costly.

When you focus the microscope, always start with a 10x magnification power. Even if you intend to use the objective with the highest capability like 100x, it is still best to start with the lowest one. Just move up until you reach the power you desire to use. A bright field microscope works in a parfocal mode. This means that if one of the objectives is properly focused, the rest are approximately focused as well.

Notice that the orientation of the slide being observed may be different from what it really is. You have to keep this in mind when using bright field microscopes. Researchers are familiar with this. But for first time users, especially for students, they should very well understand how bright field microscope works so that they can use it properly. Just follow the steps listed in here on how to use a bright field microscope and they would never go wrong.