Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Seventeenth Century
Italian Tripod Microscope

This elegant seventh-century tripod microscope is part of the collection of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy. Gerard Turner has described the construction and history of this microscope in fine detail.

The microscope body is constructed of pasteboard, leather, and wood, and supported by a crude cast iron collar suspended by a trio of iron legs. Both the inner and outer body tubes are composed of pasteboard covered in green vellum with elaborate gold tooling decorating the outer tube. Marker lines on the inner tube indicate the maximum and minimum extensions of this tube with respect to the upper end of the outer tube. The eyepiece and nosepiece are fabricated with stained sycamore wood. Lens design is consistent throughout the microscope with both the objective and field lens being bi-concave and of similar construction. The eye lens is also bi-concave, but is hampered by inclusion of many small air bubbles left as residuals from the annealing process. Originally, the microscope design and construction was attributed to Galileo, but later studies indicate that the most probable designer was Giuseppe Campani of Rome.

BACK TO SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURY MICROSCOPES

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Friday, Nov 13, 2015 at 02:19 PM
Access Count Since August 17, 1999: 52252
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: