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Period: 1500 to
Magnification Technological Advance
Convex lenses with a magnification greater that x5 became available. -
Period: to
Compound Microscopes
First compound microscopes used in Europe (used 2 convex lenses to make objects look larger). Suffered badly from colour distortion - an effect called 'spherical aberration'. -
Period: to
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
Antoni of Leyden, Holland, produced over 500 single lens microscopes. Discovered bacteria, human blood cells, spermatozoa, protozoa. Friend of Robert Hooke of England -
Marcello Malpigi
Used lenses to study insects. Discovered capillaries and may have described cells in writing of 'globules' and 'saccules'.