• The standard microscope design is used in school labs around the world..Microscope image by Ellanorah from Fotolia.com
  
  A common piece of laboratory equipment, a microscope is used to view materials normally invisible to the human eye. Materials viewed with a microscope include microorganisms, blood and tissue samples and organic and inorganic trace materials, such as those found at crime scenes. Compound light microscopes represent the most common and widely available type of microscope, reports the Different Type of Microscopes website. They are used in research facilities, forensic departments, hospitals, educational facilities and even in the home. Despite the commonality of the microscope, the structures can vary between manufacturers. Some essential components, however, carry across all designs.
  
  

Light Source

• Microscopes require a fairly intense light source. Generally located at the bottom of the microscope, the light sources come in both fixed and removable types. The Micrographia website reports that one of the most frequently employed types of light source uses grid-pattern tungsten filaments. Another common alternative is a quartz-halogen bulbs, combined with a reflector.
  
  

Substage Condenser

• A substage condenser, mounted directly beneath the stage, takes the light provided by the light source and distributes it evenly. This function becomes necessary to obtain a clear image of the sample at higher levels of magnification (above 20x). At lower levels of magnification, according to the Micrographia website, the use of a substage condenser remains optional.
  
  

Stage

• The stage is a flat platform, which may be mounted flat or on an angle. This is where slides are placed for viewing. They generally have low pressure arms to hold the slides in place. Stages come with an aperture to allow light from the substage condenser to shine through the slide/sample.
  
  

Sample

• While not technically a component of the microscope mechanism, samples represent the reason for microscopes to exist. Samples are mounted onto glass slides and generally covered with a thin cover glass. Slides come in a standard thickness of 1 millimeter (mm), while the cover glass is 0.17mm, reports the Micrographia website.
  
  

Objective

• Objectives are removable components that thread into place on the nose piece. According to the Olympus Microscopy Resource Center website, objectives contain a series of lens elements. These elements determine both the magnification and image quality. The three major types of objectives are achromat, fluorite and apochromat. Apochromat objectives produce the highest quality, but the inexpensive achromat objectives see more use.
  
  

Eyepiece

• The eyepiece conveys the final image from the objective to the eye. As a rule, eyepieces provide an additional magnification of 10x to the image. Eyepieces may also provide color correction or focusing to image, depending on the age and specifications of the microscope, reports the Micrographia website.