Bright-field microscopy

These include a dubious claim that Dutch spectacle-maker Zacharias Janssen invented the compound microscope and the telescope as early as 1590.

[4][5][6][7] Another claim is that Janssen's competitor Hans Lippershey, who applied for the first telescope patent in 1608, also invented the compound microscope.

[8] Other historians point to the Dutch innovator Cornelis Drebbel who demonstrated a compound microscope in London around 1621.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1724) is credited with bringing the microscope to the attention of biologists, even though simple magnifying lenses were already being produced in the 16th century.

[15] The light path of a bright-field microscope is extremely simple; no additional components are required beyond the normal light-microscope setup.

Bright-field microscopy is a standard light-microscopy technique, and therefore magnification is limited by the resolving power possible with the wavelength of visible light.

Bright-field illumination is useful for samples that have an intrinsic color, for example mitochondria or the observation of cytoplasmic streaming in Chara cells.