Student microscope
Encyclopedia
A Student microscope is a low power, durable optical microscope
typically sold in bulk for use in school science classes. Although university science students use microscopes, the term typically refers to the type of instrument used in primary and secondary schools. For most non-scientists, the only time a microscope was ever used was in a school science class, and so when many people picture a microscope, it is a student microscope that comes to mind.
Thus the student microscope was very much like any other two lens optical microscope, but is distinguished from others by its low cost and durability.
at the urging of a young Bausch & Lomb
marketing manager, Herbert J. Mossien, who recognized the commercial potential of a mass-produced microscope which could be sold in bulk to schools. Up to that point, microscopes were precision instruments that were typically quite expensive. The student microscope was a huge commercial success for Bausch & Lomb, and its massive sales to high schools, with a renewed emphasis on science after the Sputnik launch, propelled Mossien to the head of the company's Scientific Instruments Division and to the eventual rank of Executive Vice President. Mossien retired early from the company to become a marketing professor at Rochester Institute of Technology
, and became a well-known after-dinner and motivational speaker.
One manufacturer of Student microscopes in the United Kingdom
was Signalling Equipment Ltd, a subsidiary of J & L Randall
.
Optical microscope
The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small samples. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly designed in their present compound form in the...
typically sold in bulk for use in school science classes. Although university science students use microscopes, the term typically refers to the type of instrument used in primary and secondary schools. For most non-scientists, the only time a microscope was ever used was in a school science class, and so when many people picture a microscope, it is a student microscope that comes to mind.
Construction
The classic school microscope, as was common in American public high schools in the second half of the 20th century, was a low power (3-10x) double lens instrument, with an eyepiece adjusted with twin knobs, one for coarse and one for fine focus adjustment. The primary lens was often mounted on a rotating platter so that different lenses could be rotated into the line of view (typically there was a choice of three different powers). The optical quality of these inexpensive microscopes was very poor, so that choosing the highest-power (and thus longest) lens was often quite useless. Due to its length, the highest-power lens often crushed the slide beneath, as the hapless student rotated the focus knob vainly trying to see something and collided with the slide, which was held in place by small metal clips. Beneath the slide was an adjustable mirror, or later, a battery powered light bulb.Thus the student microscope was very much like any other two lens optical microscope, but is distinguished from others by its low cost and durability.
History
Despite its poor relative quality, the student microscope has an important place in the history of microscopy. It was "invented" (or rather, marketed) after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at the urging of a young Bausch & Lomb
Bausch & Lomb
Bausch & Lomb, an American company based in Rochester, New York, is one of the world's leading suppliers of eye health products, such as contact lenses and lens care products today. In addition to this main activity, in recent years the area of medical technology has been developed...
marketing manager, Herbert J. Mossien, who recognized the commercial potential of a mass-produced microscope which could be sold in bulk to schools. Up to that point, microscopes were precision instruments that were typically quite expensive. The student microscope was a huge commercial success for Bausch & Lomb, and its massive sales to high schools, with a renewed emphasis on science after the Sputnik launch, propelled Mossien to the head of the company's Scientific Instruments Division and to the eventual rank of Executive Vice President. Mossien retired early from the company to become a marketing professor at Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
, and became a well-known after-dinner and motivational speaker.
One manufacturer of Student microscopes in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was Signalling Equipment Ltd, a subsidiary of J & L Randall
J & L Randall
J & L Randall Ltd was a British toy manufacturer, based in Potters Bar, which was in Middlesex until 1965 and then in Hertfordshire. The company flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and placed regular advertisements in Meccano Magazine...
.