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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Robert
Hooke’s microscope replica
Robert Hooke (1635 – 1703) was an
English scientist who made contributions to many different fields, including
optics and microscopy. Hooke's book Micrographia, published in 1665,
was maybe his greatest achievement to the history of biology and contained
detailed descriptions and drawings of diverse specimens observed with a
microscope. Among other instruments, Hooke devised a compound microscope and
illumination system (Figure 1) and used it in his demonstrations at the Royal
Society's meetings. He was able to observe insects and other organisms but
his most famous microscopical observations were maybe the ones involving cork
(Figure 1). In fact, Hooke discovered (and named) cells by observing the cell
walls in the cork tissue. In 1678, Hooke was asked by the Royal Society to
confirm Leeuwenhoek's findings of the little animals (bacteria and
protozoa), which he successfully did, contributing for the wide acceptance of
Leeuwenhoek's discoveries. Hooke described that Leeuwenhoek's simple
microscopes were more powerful and the images were clearer when compared to
his compound microscope. However, he complained that simple microscopes were
difficult to use saying they were "offensive to my eye" and
that those devices "much strained and weakened the sight". This is a replica of an antique Robert
Hooke’s microscope, including the respective oil lamp, made in 2021 by the
author. The instruments were adapted from descriptions and drawings engraved
in the 1665 Hooke’s
book Micrographia (Figure 1A). The replicas are made out of wood,
brass, leather and glass. The eyepiece and objective glass lenses were
adapted from a late 19th century student microscope.
Figure 1. Hooke’s compound microscope and oil
lamp (left) and microscopical observations of cork (right) as engraved in his
book Micrographia published in 1665. LAST
EDITED: 02.06.2021 |
