History of the Microscope - What is a microscope? First a
definition . "If we consider a microscope to be an instrument by
which we can observe objects or parts of objects which are too
minute to be visible to the naked eye, and which can be used to
investigate minute structures of plants or animals, and thus
bring to our knowledge facts not otherwise ascertainable, then
the microscope is a comparatively modern invention and dates
back only to about the end of the sixteenth century. (Clay and
Court, 1975) The Lens | Eye glasses | The Telescope | The
however, we are to include the ability to magnify items that are
already visible to the naked eye, then we would have to go back
to the Egyptians who knew and practiced the art of cutting a
polishing stones. From the Egyptians this art was extended to
the Greece and Italy. artifacts include rock crystals in the
from of convex lenses (~2600 B.C.E.) Greeks and Romans continued
with these types of lenses up to the end of the Roman Empire
(~31 C.E.) and practiced the