Microscope has been a valuable tool for the development of scientific theory since the advent of its discovery. Different types of microscopes are now in the market to cater different needs of research. Seeing the smallest particle which even our own naked eyes could not see is only a distant dream before. Following the invention of microscope and after discovering things we can only imagine is beyond our grasp. All those possibilities that we can find out with a microscope are endless. This incredible discovery are now used to look at human cells, to diagnose infections, to examine microorganisms, to study the composition of minerals, to determine the grain structure of metals, to find out causes of crop diseases and dissecting biological specimens. Microscopes are also essential in the field of medical science. They have been used to identify the causes of deadly illnesses like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The ability to view things that are too small to be seen by our own naked eye is important in surveillance and security. Microscopes can help out in solving crimes through identifying finger prints, to figure out where illegal drugs came from by simply checking the opium crystals under the microscopes and not to mention its help to fast track investigation to make this world a safer place for all of us. Nineteenth century microscopes witnessed a remarkable development in optics with the birth of achromatic objectives by Van Deijl, Amici and Lester. Through the eye of achromatic microscope scientist discovered microorganisms like bacteria and microbes. Advanced glass formulations helped produced the first apochromat objectives by Zeiss, Schott and Abbe.

By applying scientific principles to his old craft of glassmaking he then introduced it to modern technology. Otto Schott learned that lithium-based glass was especially useful in the production of lenses and through the aid of the famous physicist Ernst Abbe, by then they developed a glass with better and more consistent optical qualities in order to develop a more state of the art microscope. Abbe became the research director of a German industrialist Dr. Carl Freidrick Zeiss and within two years he invented the apochromatic lens system for the microscope. Debuting in the middle of century was the photography of objects under the lens of a microscope which is called photomicrography.

To enhance the microscopes illumination another discovery was made by Professor August Kohler who developed an optimize image quality allowing the microscopists to take advantage of the resolving power of apochromatic objectives. The twentieth century is another rebirth of microscope technology with the introduction of new contrast enhancing techniques such as phase contrast, Hoffman modulation contrast, differential interference contrast, and fluorescence microscopy. Phase contrast made it possible to study the cell cycle, while Hoffman modulation contrast converts transparent specimens clear with vivid detail through converting gradients into intensity variations. Differential interference contrast is an optical microscopy illumination technique used to enhance the contrast in unstained samples. On the other hand fluorescence microscopy is another essential laboratory tool in modern cell and molecular biology.