We look at the world of microscopes from an optical and social perspective. We mark the contribution of the early microscopical pioneers and also that of Ernst Ruska, who, if not exactly bringing the optical side of the story to an end, took microscopy in a direction the museum cannot follow.
Wordsworth enjoyed viewing the daffodils fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Some of his more scientifically minded friends would have picked the flowers instead! How that would have annoyed the Lake District National Park rangers had they existed.
Did you know?
The word 'microscope' was first coined in 1656, possibly half a century after the invention of the first instrument to which we would now give the name. The adjective 'microscopic' (as in pertaining to the function of a microscope) first occurs in 1680, but the use of the word to mean 'very small' does not occur before 1760.
