Have you ever wondered how microscopes work, or who invented them? These days microscopes are one of the most important tools in science. Microscopes help us look closer at smaller organisms that we cannot see with our naked eye. Using a microscope lets us observe different shapes, forms, and behaviors of very small objects. A man named Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope during the late 17th century. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek was born in 1632 in a small town in the Netherlands. His occupation was a scientist, although at the time being a scientist was not enough to make a living out of. He had to be a tradesman to make money. Antonie was a microbiologist. He is a type of biologist that observes microscopic organisms. He needed a tool that would help him observe microscopic organisms closer and finer.
Antonie took the middle of a soda lime glass and put it into a flame. He then pulled the hot section apart creating two long poles of glass. Next, he took one of the poles and carefully put one the end of it into the flame creating a small glass sphere. The spheres were the lens of the microscope. The smaller the lens, the finer and bigger magnification. The bigger the lens, the smaller magnification.
Antonie presented his invention at the Royal Scientific Society of London. This allowed his discovery to be well known throughout Europe. Using a microscope, he was the first person to discover a protozoa, and also the first person to describe a red blood cell. He lived a long happy life full of discoveries. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek died in 1723 from a rare desease named after him. It is called Leeuwenhoek desease. Microscopes today had became more advanced with new upgrades. Microscopes are used by scientists, but detectives also use them to look at evidence. 