Similarities and differences between compound microscope and electron microscope
Every microscope uses some form of magnification lens. In compound microscopes, these lenses are made of glass, while in electron microscopes the lenses are electromagnetic. Although the lenses may be made of different materials, they rest in roughly the same places in every microscope form: the bottom and the top. The lenses are named the same thing, and do the same magnification duties. At the bottom is the condenser, below the specimen. The specimens above are objective shots. The difference here is that there is a third lens type under electronics: near the top of the projector lens.
lighting required
No matter what type of microscope one uses, or expensive, or fancy, it may be, they all have one thing in common: the lighting they need to use. For a compound microscope, the illumination is some form of light under the specimen. Ambient light will not work well on a compound microscope. The light must be bright, usually provided by a small light bulb. In an electron microscope, the illumination is a beam of electrons passing through the specimen.
output area
All microscopes also require a person to view the specimen somewhere. The output area is the same place for both types of microscopes: at the top. Although one is an eyepiece, and the other a larger fluorescent screen, neither microscope will be used without any scientific ability to view the results. Depending on which type of microscope is used, the magnification and resolution may vary slightly, but will produce output in the same area.
Specimen preparation
A microscope is virtually worthless to view a specimen. The study of cells and microorganisms requires the use of microscopes. Because of this need, the preparation of specimens often follows the same procedure. Electron microscopes, despite their far superior magnification and resolution, often work best with ultrathin sections of dead cells. Compound microscopes also work with dead cells, however, they also work fine with living
