Optical Instruments Concept

Demonstrations in Optical Instruments

Video camera with flip-out screen at near end of optical bench, convex lens in dark card mount in middle, desk lamp illuminating target card at far end, wooden meter stick along bench
Safety

Microscope Model

Two convex lenses on an optical bench model a compound microscope, producing a magnified, inverted image captured by a video camera. Students see how objective and eyepiece lenses combine for …
Boreal 420T stereo microscope with digital camera mounted on top, single eyepiece tube visible, focus knobs, chrome stand, and white LED-illuminated base with circular stage

Microscopes

Demonstrate compound microscope optics as a concrete application of multi-lens image formation. Both microscopes have digital output for classroom projection, allowing the whole class to observe magnified samples in real …
Blackboard optics microscope configuration: ray projector on left sends diverging rays through two magnetic convex lenses on a chalkboard, with chalk annotations labeling points A, B, A-prime, B-double-prime, and "to eye"

Blackboard Optics Microscope and Telescope

Demonstrates compound microscope and refracting telescope configurations using magnetic blackboard optics. Students see how two-lens systems form intermediate and final images through visible ray tracing, connecting lens equations to observable …
Orion refracting telescope with black tube on silver tripod with equatorial mount and slow-motion cable controls
Safety

Refracting Telescope

Demonstrates image formation, magnification, and image orientation in a refracting telescope. Students observe how objective and eyepiece lenses combine to magnify distant objects, and see how a diagonal mirror produces …
Orion Newtonian reflector telescope with blue tube on a Dobsonian tabletop mount, focuser and eyepiece at the top of the tube
Safety

Reflecting Telescope

Compares Newtonian and Cassegrain reflecting telescope designs side-by-side. Students see how different secondary mirror configurations (flat diagonal vs. convex) redirect light to different eyepiece locations, and why reflectors avoid chromatic …
Wooden 8x10 view camera with black bellows extended, metal lens on front standard, mounted on wooden base with metal rails
Safety

8 x 10-Inch View Camera

A large-format view camera projects an inverted, real image of a carbon filament lamp onto a ground glass screen. Students directly observe image formation by a converging lens and the …
Close-up of printed text with a prism placed over it, showing the text under the prism displaced laterally compared to adjacent text

Bi-Prism Focusing

Shows how a bi-prism in a 35 mm SLR camera is used to focus on an object. Two opposing prisms displace images in opposite directions; the images align only when …
Technical diagram of an overhead projector showing internal components (lamp, reflector, Fresnel lens, mirror, projection lens) with labeled parts, and a ray diagram below showing how condensing lens, slide aperture, and projecting lens form an image on a screen
Safety

The Projector

Display the parts of an overhead projector or assemble a slide projector from components on an optical bench. Students see how the thin lens equation governs real image formation, magnification, …
Black ring with perpendicular threads forming crosshairs, mounted on ring stand with hanging weights for tension. Through the ring, the real inverted image of a colorful letter card (C visible) is seen superimposed on the crosshairs, with the convex lens on a stand visible behind.

Crosshairs on Image

Crosshairs positioned at the real image plane of a converging lens remain fixed relative to image features when viewed from different angles, proving the real image exists at a specific …