At the first glance, all the microscopes look almost the same and are used to perform the same action, that is the magnifying of a sample of interest. But when we in go in deep we a see fantastic line of microscopes ranging from the single lens microscopes to the highly advanced fluorescence microscopes.

First of all, in the most basic way, the microscopes such as monoculars, binoculars and triloculars have been classified in terms of the number of lenses they use.

On one hand, they vary in their size, shape, outlook and design from each other, and on the other, they make themselves unique differing in terms of their internal mechanism. All the different types of microscopes have their unique ability to magnify an object using their specific resolutions.

The microscopes also vary in the type and quality of images they produce based on the illumination method they apply. This versatility in their functionality give us three more prominent types of microscopes. They also vary on the basis of their radiation source. Read following! These are ;

1. Light Microscopes,

2. Electron Microscopes,

3. Confocal Microscopes

Light Microscopes : These microscopes use light as the source of radiation and are used for basic and non-complex works. Such microscopes can be further classified into two types such as ;

Stereo Microscopes : Such types of microscopes are best used to create a 3-D image of the sample of interest.

Compound Microscope : Such types of microscopes produce 2-D images of objects being studied. The compound microscopes have three variants. These are commonly known as phase contrast microscopes, dark field microscopes and oil immersion microscopes.

Electron Microscope : These advanced microscopes use electrons as the source of radiation. Basically, these are used for advance research works in the field of medical and geological and other sciences. Naturally, such field need highly magnified images. There are certain types of electron microscopes such as ;

> Transmission Electron Microscope : When it comes to study deeply the innner surface and mechanism of the given sample, this microscope is used. A stream of electron beam is used to see a magnified version.

> Scanning Electron Microscope : While when the magnified outer surface is needed to be studied, such type of microscope is helpful.

Confocal Microscope : These are the most advanced type of microscopes. They use laser as the source of radiation. Its most startling example is the fluorescence microscope which uses fluorescent tags to illuminate the sample.

Microscopes used in the field of Nanotechnology :

The variants of scanning probe microscopes such as near-field scanning optical microscopes, atomic force microscopes, scanning tunneling microscopes etc are used in the field of nanotechnology.