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Compound microscope

A compound microscope uses a lens close to the object being viewed to collect light (called the objective lens), which focuses a real image of the object inside the microscope (image 1). That image is then magnified by a second lens or group of lenses (called the eyepiece) that gives the viewer an enlarged inverted virtual image of the object (image 2). The use of a compound objective/eyepiece combination allows for much higher magnification. Common compound microscopes often feature exchangeable objective lenses, allowing the user to quickly adjust the magnification. A compound microscope also enables more advanced illumination setups, such as phase contrast.