Microscope Image Processing

2

Fundamentals of Microscopy

Kenneth R. Castleman and Ian T. Young

2.1 Origins of the Microscope

During the 1st century ad, the Romans were experimenting with different

shapes of clear glass. They discovered that by holding over an object a piece

of clear glass that was thicker in the middle than at the edges, they could make

that object appear larger. They also used lenses to focus the rays of the sun and

start a fire. By the end of the 13th century, spectacle makers were producing

lenses to be worn as eyeglasses to correct for deficiencies in vision. The word lens

derives from the Latin word lentil, because these magnifying chunks of glass

were similar ...