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Stereo microscopes and compound microscopes are two distinct types of light microscopes that have many similarities, but some fundamental differences.

A stereo microscope has 2 objective lenses which provide 2 different optical paths to each eye. These two optical paths are at slightly different angles providing a stereoscopic view – a 3D view – of the sample.

Unlike stereo microscopes, compound microscopes only have a single optical path. This means that the specimen can be viewed through the eyepiece at a greater magnification as the objective lenses can be interchanged.

Compound microscopes provide a much greater magnification power and so are better suited to inspect the microscopic structures in much smaller specimens.

It’s certainly worth being aware of these key differences as they impact factors such as the magnification power, working distance and the depth of field, as well as imparting some other very useful qualities. As a result, each is intended for viewing different types of objects and therefore for different applications.

Compound microscopes are able to provide a much larger magnification, which can range from 40x to 1000x or more. They achieve this by magnifying in two stages, the first that uses the ocular lens and the second which uses interchangeable objective lenses, which are often 4x, 10x, 40x and 60x magnification.

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These components provide stereo microscopes with superior depth perception and a great working distance. The depth perception relates to the distance between two points in a specimen that both remain clear and focused when viewed.

By now, you are probably well aware of the major differences between compound and stereo microscopes (also called dissecting microscopes). However, in summary, here is a brief overview of the differences:

Stereo microscopes (dissecting microscopes) illuminate objects from above, which allows the surfaces of many large objects to be viewed in a good amount of detail. They even allow you to view the object stereoscopically (3-dimensional), hence their name.

On the other hand, stereo microscopes provide a stereoscopic view of a specimen and are more suitable for analyzing larger objects, where 3D visualization and depth perception are useful.

For these reasons, stereo microscopes are mainly used for viewing opaque objects including insects, minerals, jewelry, coins, watches, hardware, and many other large specimens.

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The focal length of a lens and the magnification of an image are inversely related. This means that as the focal length increases, the magnification decreases, and vice versa.

There are a few factors that can affect the focal length of a lens, including the curvature of the lens, the refractive index of the material the lens is made of, and the distance from the lens to the object. Additionally, changing the position of the object or lens can also alter the focal length.

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Both stereo microscopes and compound microscopes can be used for a wide variety of biological and hobby based activities. Although many models look similar in design, it’s important to remember that they have some very important differences. As you are now aware, the key differences lie within their optics.

Focal length is the distance between the center of a lens and the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image. It is typically measured in millimeters (mm).

Although the general rule is that compound microscopes are used for smaller objects and stereo microscopes are used for viewing larger objects, it really depends on the type of objects you are going to be analyzing on a regular basis. Essentially, you can use either type of microscope to view many types of a specimen.

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Due to the flexibility of having 3 or 4 objective lenses and often interchangeable ocular lenses, compound microscopes offer superior magnification power and so are ideal for looking at small specimens.

Stereo microscopes, also referred to as dissecting microscopes, provide a relatively low magnification, typically 50x and below.

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The relationship between focal length and image distance can be graphed by plotting the image distance on the x-axis and the focal length on the y-axis. This will result in a hyperbolic curve, with the focal length as the asymptote.

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However, since it does not allow provide two different axes of the same specimen to be viewed at once it lacks the depth perception and 3D visualization of a dissecting microscope.

A monocular head on a microscope is a single eyepiece, and a binocular head on a microscope is two eyepieces. Many people assume that a microscope with a binocular head is a stereo microscope, but this is not the case. While stereo microscopes usually have two eyepieces, a compound microscope can have either one or two eyepieces.

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These attributes make compound microscopes well suited for the observation of smaller samples, often sliced into a section to allow the light to pass through them. This commonly includes biological samples such as bacteria, plant cells, and tissues.

Stereo microscopes use a type of illumination referred to as incident light illumination (light is reflected off the surface of the object). This allows the visualization of the surface of the object.

A compound microscope usually has 3 or 4 objective lenses which are interchangeable, but the optical path for each objective lens provides the same angle of view of the sample to each eye. While a magnified image of the sample will be seen in enlarged detail, the image cannot be seen stereoscopically.

Stereo microscopes have two optical paths, one which is offset from the other. This is because stereo microscopes use two separate objective lenses and eyepieces. This means that different axes of an object or sample can be analyzed at the same time. This key difference provides it with two very useful features – depth perception and 3D visualization.

The focal length of a lens can be calculated by dividing the distance from the lens to the image by the distance from the lens to the object. This is known as the thin lens equation: 1/f = 1/di + 1/do, where f is the focal length, di is the image distance, and do is the object distance.

Compound microscopes also use transmitted light illumination (light is passed through the sample).  This often means that samples have to be dissected into smaller slices to enable the light path to travel through the sample and illuminate more of the microscopic structures.

In brief, stereo microscopes offer a lower magnification, but useful qualities such as 3D visualization and depth perception. Therefore, making them ideal for visualization of larger objects.

For those interested in viewing much smaller specimens, and the internal structures of specimens, you will require a compound microscope. These microscopes offer a much greater magnification power and illuminate objects from below. These are great for those individuals wanting to view cells, bacteria, fungi, tissues, organs and other small biological specimens.