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Ellen Whyte

Quick Facts
Find synonyms for the following words:
twist, enlarge, transformation
One of the easiest ways to make small objects look bigger is to look at them  through a lens, or curved piece of glass.
Nobody is sure who first discovered this device. Archaeologists have found lenses in the Middle East that are 2,600 years old.
A single curved lens is useful for reading or watching plays on a distant stage but they're not very powerful. They also distort the image.
In the early 1600s, scientists started working with compound microscopes that used two lenses at the same time. One lens magnified an object and the second increased the magnification.
Early models could magnify objects up to 500 times. With the help of these exciting new tools, scientists started exploring the microscopic world. They quickly discovered the existence of microbes and started studying their role in health, food spoilage, fermentation and nature.
Without the microscope, the Scientific Revolution that saw the start of modern medicine, biology, chemistry, physics and other disciplines would have been impossible.
Microscope Inventors
Fill in the gaps with the following words:
patent, credit, counterfeited, unrecognised
Writers in the 1600s claim Hans Jansen, a lens maker from Belgium, built the first compound microscope in 1590. But others _______________ his son, the Dutch inventor Zacharias Jansen.
They say Zacharias built the first telescope in 1604 but went _______________ because he was unknown outside of the Netherlands. Zacharias may have kept quiet because of his criminal work. He _______________ coins and spent many years on the run from the police.
Another possibility is that Dutch-German lens maker Hans Lippershey invented the first compound telescope, and then went on to build and _______________ the telescope in 1608.
Others say the credit goes to Italian genius Galileo Galilei who made a microscope with a convex and a concave lens in 1609.
Who do you think deserves the credit?
Also Presenting....
Choose the correct alternative:
Other inventions/discoveries also rely on curved glass for magnification.
Readers with poor eyesight use a magnifying glass to read small print. Jewellers and watchmakers use a loupe, an eyeglass that condenses/enlarges objects up to 10 times. Some theatregoers carry a lorgnette, a pair of glasses with a long handle.
The only drawback/benefit of these tools is that the glass slightly bends the light of different wavelengths, or colours.  This means the edges of the things you look at are sometimes turned into mini-rainbows.
About Glass
Without glass, there would have been no microscopes.
In China, glassware was made during the Han dynasty from 206BC to 220AD. But it wasn't popular so very few craftsmen bothered with the art.
In contrast, artisans in northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe have been making glass goblets, bowls, vases and jewellery for more than 4,500 years.
Nobody knows when eyeglasses were invented. The earliest picture we have is an oil painting by Tommaso da Modena from 1352, showing Cardinal Hugh of Provence wearing spectacles.
True or false?
1. The oldest glass objects are from ancient China.
2. Glass objects have been made since 2500BC.
3. The first picture of eyeglasses was made 650 years ago.
fab fact!
Modern scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) can magnify specimens up to two million times. With STEMs, we can see atoms and the bonds between them!
fab fact!
Dutch scientist Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to discover the existence of bacteria, yeast, protozoa, blood cells, sperm cells and other small organisms in 1674.
fab fact!
German physicist Erwin Muller invented the field ion microscope in 1951 and became the first person to see an atom.
Quiz
Answer the following questions. To test your memory, try answering without referring to the text. If you can't remember the details, read the piece again.
1. Compound microscopes were first built in:
a. 1500
b. 1550
c. 1600
2. Compound microscopes use:
a. no more than one lens
b. at least two lenses
c. more than three lenses
3. Early compound microscopes could magnify objects:
a. up to five times
b. up to 50 times
c. up to 500 times
4. A jeweller loupe magnifies objects:
a. up to 10 times
b. up to 100 times
c. up to 1,000 times
5. Who first discovered bacteria?
a. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek
b. Galileo Galilei
c. Hans Lippershey
6. Erwin Muller was the first person to:
a. build a telescope
b. see an atom
c. make a lens
Answers
Synonyms: distort, magnify, revolution
Fill in the gaps: credit, unrecognised, counterfeited, patent
Correct alternative: inventions, enlarges, drawback
True or False: 1. F, 2. T, 2. T
Quiz: 1. c, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. a, 6. b



Small can be big