n. a microscope for examining particles suspended in a gas or liquid under intense illumination from one side. Light is scattered or reflected from the particles, which can be seen through the eyepiece as bright objects against a dark background.
n. an instrument for producing a greatly magnified image of an object, which may be so small as to be invisible to the naked eye. Light or optical microscopes use light as a radiation source for viewing the specimen and combinations of lenses to magnify the image; these are usually an *objective and an *eyepiece. See also electron microscope; operating microscope; ultramicroscope. —microscopical adj. —microscopy n.... microscope
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