The different parts of an articulating microscope that work together are the reason why this device is very useful. These particular parts are somewhat similar to a traditional microscope, though. Articulating microscopes may simply have other additional parts, which makes it distinctly different from other types of microscopes.

Articulating microscopes are special types of microscopes that provide its users with both flexibility and versatility. Articulating microscopes are easy to spot because they don’t look very similar to other microscopes. While their function stays the same, their parts are somehow different so that each of them can provide features that are diverse with each other. 

These are the parts of articulating microscopes that allows it to work in full functionality:

1. Articulating arm and stand

Most articulating microscopes come with a boom stand. A boom stand is long metal rod that is attached to a steady platform. And on this stand, another rod is placed in a perpendicular manner. This rod now serves as the microscope’s articulating arm. The arm can be extended or retracted as required by the user’s application. It is also possible to move it in different directions so that its users can directly point the microscope’s objectives to the actual part of specimen they want to observe.

2. Binocular eyepieces

Most articulating microscopes, if not all of them, are equipped with binocular eyepieces. Binocular eyepieces allow users to use both of their eyes when looking through the microscope and observe the sample. Depending upon the microscope’s use, an eyepiece with a magnification of 10x is the one attached to the microscope’s viewing tubes. It can be removed though, so that higher magnification level can be achieved. There are 12x and 16x eyepieces that are available in the market today. More often than not, you can use them alternately with the 10x eyepiece that originally came with the system.

3. Objective lenses

All microscopes have objective lenses. Actually, this is what makes them functional. Objective lenses are the parts that have the main task of magnify the specimen under observation. Articulating microscopes are usually compound microscopes. This means they are equipped with more than one objective lens. The most common magnification level of these microscopes is 10x, 20x, 40x, and 100x. The 100x magnification lens is commonly an oil immersion lens. Only experienced researchers and professionals use these types of lenses.

4. Illumination system

Articulating microscopes work better with a built-in illumination system. This means it can light its own sample from within. Users need not setup an external bulb or use a penlight just to provide light to the sample and make it viewable under the objective lens. Some merely use mirrors, though. Mirrors are good enough if you are going to use the microscope on a well-lit room during daytime. Otherwise, it might be hard for you to use the microscope without any form of a light source.

5. Diaphragm

The articulating microscope’s diaphragm is what allows its users to control the light that passes through the sample being viewed. In essence, users can control the brightness and the contrast of the image they are trying to observe. The diaphragm of the microscope is attached to a knob so that making the adjustments become fairly simple. Low quality articulating microscopes may not have this particular part, though. While diaphragm can really be an optional part, it becomes a requirement if you are keen in producing good quality pictures. As a piece of advice, don’t buy an articulating microscope that doesn’t have it.

6. Camera

A lot of articulating microscopes, more particularly the ones used in hospitals for disease diagnosis, come with a digital camera attached. The main purpose of this digital camera is to take an image of the sample under observation to provide for a hard copy or to keep it in a computer or similar storage device. Cameras make microscopes doubly functional. Cameras also make the researcher or observer’s job easier if the images produced by the cameras are fed into a compatible monitor. As such, a lot of medical experts can view the sample at the same time and provide for an intelligent opinion about it in real time.

These are the basic parts of an articulating microscope. Each of these parts are deemed very useful because the functionality of the device suffers when one of these parts is absent. So when buying articulating microscopes, see to it that you inspect these parts individually. And you should always double check for usability and durability.