ALTERNATIVE MICROSCOPES BUILT USING LOW-COST MATERIALS

This work aims to compare the construction of magnification devices. Details of the construction and use of microscopes based on webcam and smartphone are presented, using software for image processing. It is also presented the construction of microscopes using drops of different liquids as magnifying lens, a compound microscope, and a water-drop projector. Magnified images obtained with each device are presented, and the different microscopes are compared. The results obtained from the use of these alternative instruments confirm that alternative microscopes are instruments of easy reproducibility, enabling the amplification of samples for a more detailed observation of the object of interest.

Keywords:
alternative microscopes; science teaching; smartphone microscope; water-drop projector; converging lens microscope