The Gadget That Changed How We See The World | Cell | BBC Earth Science

[@1965lks]

As a child (over 40 years ago), I made a copy of Leeuwenhoek's microscope based on an article in a popular science magazine. It was stated there that Leeuwenhoek did not require any operation such as grinding and polishing the lenses! He made them in a simpler way, which is easily accessible (but not at all obvious) The method is this: you need to take a piece of glass, heat it until it melts and, touching the molten mass, pull out a thread of glass from it. Then you need to melt the tip of the thread and wait for a small ball of glass to form at the end of the thread. This is the lens!!! Considering its small size, deviations from the correct shape and, accordingly, distortions are small. As amazing as it may seem, this is a completely suitable option! Perhaps such a lens is inferior to a polished one, but not by much.

[@bobtail1200]

You must be a wizard of some other world , mate

[@1965lks]

@jamescheddar4896 Yes, you're right, moreover, I did this with both water drops and oil drops (pierce the plastic plate and carefully place a drop on the hole) But this is of course inconvenient, and the water drop dries out quickly. I would like to note that some developers are developing liquid lenses at a thorough scientific level, with the ability to change curvature and so on

[@sitnamkrad]

This even works to some extend by placing a drop of water on the lens of your phone camera.

[@1965lks]

@@bobtail1200 I wonder why you said that?😀

[@Termuellinator]

Oh the sweet irony of a video about something to enhance our vision being uploaded in 480p in 2024 🤣

[@salamancajose1284]

ah another classic example of a spoiled ungrateful shit lol “but 480p is not as high-def as i would like”

[@aamackie]

Especially with this being a BBC thing so it's probably PAL, 576 lines rather than NTSC's 480. Are higher res ones just processing?

[@nicholasalbeck7114]

Shut... Up?

[@waroonh4291]

£159 is for colour not resolution (BBC did not said that.. i guess.)

[@NoName-ik2du]

I thought this was one of their uploads from a decade ago until I saw your comment and then went back to check the upload date.

[@mikegordon8178]

Leeuwenhoek's first lens was a drop of water, gravity and surface tension provided the curvature.

[@jonnynice8366]

That makes perfect sense. I'm almost positive that some people much further back in time have used similar methods to magnify things, it's just too obvious.

[@Sonnell]

@@jonnynice8366 I think not the method is the important part. The importance was here that he was one of the very few who even wished to magnify things. And he happened to be a person who was also able to produce a good enough magnifier as well.

[@BenjaminSpencer-m1k]

Actually had sweat poor off my face and a droplet wad on my eye. lash and I swear I saw a microscopic creature in it.

[@jonnynice8366]

@@BenjaminSpencer-m1k nice, lol

[@Deezenuts19990]

​@@BenjaminSpencer-m1kif you close your eyes to the point of them just opening..and stare at some light...you can see the fibers and dust on the lens of your eyes.. Basically..I know what your saying and I believe you

[@ChetCoenen]

The enthusiasm from Hans could be hardly seen in the devices he builds.

[@skylark4901]

Hans, a very modest man...🙂

[@endicottsummers203]

For anyone who would like to watch the full documentary, this is from the BBC TV series, "The Cell" released in 2009. I don't have a link to it, but if you google on "BBC The Cell 2009," a link should pop up.

[@PMunkS]

Brilliant. Thank you very kindly.

[@cubertmiso]

thanks! i hope that there is more about how the microscope actually works (focusing, grinding) and all that rowing at the lake was in this weird clip.

[@Bugkillahz]

This should be pinned to the top.

[@StueyMonster]

I remember watching this show when it came out, Adam is a great science communicator! He heated up a spoon over a flame and put it on his arm and it stuck to his skin... No doubt he still has the scar to this day!

[@sailaab]

Watching this video in 8K resolution is the best part. Thank you BBC for uploading it with high resolution

[@vast634]

Again the BBC shows those KZbin creators how to make a quality video.

[@weatheranddarkness]

I like at 2:29 our lens maker is not only looking at a lens, but through two other lenses at the same time

[@DanielLCarrier]

Three. Don't forget the one in his eye.

[@SpicyRikers]

A true fan of lenses

[@bighammer3464]

It took a lens to make a lens. That’s the chicken and the egg problem right there

[@studioROT]

... and we could see it through the lens of the camera too.

[@matthuck378]

1:40 I bet a lot of people had the curiosity. But only that one guy had the money and the technology...And the curiosity.

[@holysong2099]

or maybe everyone else was just too lazy to do anything about it.

[@SimonFrack]

@@holysong2099Yes, for thousands of years every single person on Earth was too lazy to collect a small amount of water.

[@satyaprakash03133]

You are right in predicting the conditions but you forgot their relevance over each other. Curiosity is the key when you know you can manipulate certain conditions to accentuate the trait you want.

[@omabang5002]

And documented, I guess

[@keithkorthals6183]

My guess is time and money...most people worked for food

[@chenlim2165]

Dang, didn’t know Leeuwenhoek made the first microscope. We study him as a scientist, but he was also a master craftsman.

[@noahway13]

Polymaths. Sometimes they make me feel ashamed \(9_9)/

[@Advance_Ape]

Dude, Hans and Zacharias Janssen made the first microscope. Thank you

[@Jirka-j2g]

Leeuwenhoek did not make first, but made it good enough to be actually scientifically useful. He was the best in the world in making lenses and it was his perfected lenses that made his microscope revolutional. He then went on to microscope his semen made some wild claims abput what he saw (read abput homunculus)

[@backwards86]

Well first RECORDED microscope in the WEST. 🙄

[@1minuteofgaming596]

Magnifying glass was made by Muslims, not by some random dude called hook. Al- Hytham is the father of optics.

[@TTTzzzz]

A lens is called a lens because it had the shape (and size) of a lentil. !!!!

[@Photo_doctor]

What's a lentil

[@garryiglesias4074]

@@Photo_doctor A seed, and in France we use the exact same word "lentille", for both seeds and lenses. I bet it's the same for almost all Latin derivatives.

[@Sonnell]

@@garryiglesias4074 I think it is the same name for this plant and the device in many languages :)

[@garryiglesias4074]

@@Sonnell Probably.

[@ecopennylife]

​@@Photo_doctor look up Jamie Oliver's 15 minute Daal curry recipe using red lentils ☺️

[@migranthawker2952]

As a child, I was given a set of science encyclopaedias from which I learned about Leeuwenhoek and his "little beasties" from this time on, I was fascinated by optics. Now, more than 60 years later, I am still fascinated. I made a career out of it and have my own work room with high and low power microscopes and cameras adapted for high magnification. It's a very absorbing hobby in my retirement!!

[@RaumBances]

To talk about an astonishing, ancient microscope and only show a few seconds of footage from it is rather annoying.

[@NarendraMnr]

Exactly, like bro show us THAT

[@MBKindell]

Absolutely! We saw more of him and his boat on the water than we did of the actual device. What a crap fest... Also.... They must've waited several hours before they took an image with the film camera because there is nothing moving in that water. Very humorous

[@vincenttrudeau8935]

Hahaha you made my day. :)

[@cubertmiso]

@@MBKindell hahaha, so true. what were they thinking!? (again)

[@MICHAEL-ys3pu]

It’s about what can be seen not how it was made.🇦🇺

[@EcomCarl]

His incredible craftsmanship and curiosity opened up new frontiers in science and medicine. 🔬

[@thenamelessoner]

you have negative rizz on skibidi bro

[@EcomCarl]

@@thenamelessoner Cheers my man

[@senor_finor6154]

- I've looked down a fair a few microscopes before... - Yeah, look through the other side. Like, the lens must be between your eye and an object, like in the other microscopes you said you've used.

[@georgetirebiter4343]

Thanks for presenting this. I always saw illustrations of this microscope, but they never described how to use it!

[@raulgalets]

"just in case I need help. what do I do?" "well it is on... the wrong side"

[@megamanx466]

I'm sure this microscope would've been amazing for scientific field work in it's time. Such an elegant solution!

[@1minuteofgaming596]

Magnifying glass was made by Muslims, not by some random dude called hook. Al- Hytham is the father of optics.

[@marioalday5966]

You can achieve a similar effect just by crying. When you stop crying do not wipe your eyelashes. Let the small balls of tears hanging on. Now try to center your eye to the small drops in your eyelashes (it takes some practice). If you approach an object at the correct distance you will see your tears make an excellent microscope. Unfortunately the effect lasts only a few seconds. If you wonder why to use tears and not plain water it is because tears lasts longer. If you suffer from short live tears (a condition also called dry eyes) you may not achieve the effect.

[@zinckensteel]

also, if you wear glasses, sit with the sun behind you and there is a certain angle where greatly enlarged images of your eye lashes, iris, etc can be seen. A uniform dark foreground helps with seeing the image.

[@anirudhpuranik5222]

We can also just add a tiny drop of water to our smartphone cameras and get this effect.

[@syphonunfiltered]

How much have you cried to discover this? Sad but still curious, like a real scientist lol

[@tichu7]

Someone tell me a sad story, I want to try this.

[@Wait_Huh817]

Hmm well I sit in class with my glasses near the sun, for some reason when I focus on the reflection in my glass I see a close up of my eye and skin cells

[@thewefactor1]

Gem cutting techniques, cabochon, encased between two plates, the correct crystalline structure. with a control screw to replicate the hand moving it to-and-fro, but with more control...

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

Great content. I do not think van Leeuwenhoek received the recognition he deserved for his contributions to science.

[@OPGamer-wp1si]

Hats off to such artisan and of course Thank U BBC. 👍

[@traytrid9367]

With his craftmanship, it's safe to say that Mr. Locke is very Hans on😅

[@Lew114]

Haha

[@1minuteofgaming596]

Magnifying glass was made by Muslims, not by some random dude called hook. Al- Hytham is the father of optics.

[@martmart.]

in some certain way, when squinting with one eye closed to a light source not directly pointed towards you, you might be able to see granules of floating round stuff, you can see them move and even observe it more when you slightly twitch your eye

[@jancsi-vera]

“Oh wow” - that sums up the video !!!

[@korujaa]

Thank you for the video

[@hebopavlos]

what's incredible is they got that through a camera lens

[@denissetiawan3645]

50 years of gate keeping by van Leeuwenhoek

[@stargazeronesixseven]

😊🙏 Marvelous insight into the discovery & making of our first microscope! Jolly excellent little presentation indeed! Thank You So Much BBC Science! 🌷🌿🌍✌💜🕊

[@TeamFish15]

These aren’t long enough. Where are the full episodes?

[@2nonanone]

reminds me of the ball cap inside a ink cartridge for modern fountain pens. I used to cut the plastic cartridges and collect the ball inside each of them (kids thing, you know). This ball are very tiny and clean. One day out of curiosity I took one ball very close my eyes and saw through it, I saw transparent shapes moving and some small bunch of round transparent things, This were the micro organisms. I could say this because I had observed many things and organisms from microscope in science lap periods at my school at that time.

[@williamwalls9768]

I cant get enough of stuff like this

[@ovalwingnut]

Very COoL "glimpse" into the discovery of the (micro) microscope...

[@tuqann]

Everyone was curious about the nature of water, the new microscope just opened a window into that question that we couldn't reach before.

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

This reminds me of the amber spyglass from the philip pullman novel of the same name, and how they discovered the ability to see that which could not be seen with the naked eye alone.

[@TheRealKalEll]

This video was WAY too short. Thanx4sharing thanx4caring ❤

[@jtsmith9645]

For those of us that have no material, tools or skill to make one of these, can they be purchased somewhere?

[@adolfocamaraescobedo]

I remember the popular book "The Microbe Hunters" by Paul De Kruif tells the story of Leeuwenhoek in the first chapter, very exciting.

[@tom_something]

1:50 - (A man takes a water sample.) "He raced home to take a closer look with his microscope." (A man who is less young works by candle light.) "...it was a long journey."

[@onmyworkbench7000]

I had a biology teacher in 9th grade take us out to collect water from a pond and bring it back and view it under a microscope after I saw what was in it I never went back in that pond ever again!

[@gbbarn]

And so, the man who told everyone that their curse was caused by tiny, invisible creatures, went from lunatic to genius.

[@DavidGalich77]

Wow that was the first time that I have seen or heard of that. Cool!

[@fewwiggle]

I always assumed he had made a microscope that looked like modern ones, just with poorer lenses.

[@andrearusky]

BBC why are you posting videos at 480P resolution??? 🤦🏻‍♂

[@dancinglizard6034]

probably bc its a clip of an old documentary

[@Poodleinacan]

Honestly awesome

[@Jumansa19]

Interesting but much too short and only 480p...?!

[@johnishikawa2200]

With everyone making their contributions - like that lens maker of centuries ago - humans have brought us slowly to where we are now in terms of inventions and what we know . But now in this age of information , knowledge is increasing at an exponential rate . Breakthroughs are just around the corner .

[@garryiglesias4074]

«knowledge is increasing at an exponential rate . Breakthroughs are just around the corner» First. "humanity knowledge" is too massive to be integrated by one individual. Then: no there are less and less "breakthrough" papers since the Quantum revolution. You facts about "exponential rate" are wrong. The "state of the art": or the "current science consensus" on the topic is that we have reached our limits on several domains, and there's no "breakthrough" on the horizon. More probably a kind of "plateau" in science KNOWLEDGE. Engineering is another thing, as we are still far behind bleeding edge science knowledge, but engineering is not science. What science knows which is just around the corner is resource limitation and climate change making our lives in extreme danger.

[@johnishikawa2200]

@garryiglesias4074: My " facts are wrong " , Garry ? QUANTUM COMPUTING , the JWST , AI , MICROBIOLOGY and MEDICINE , ... , to name but a few . There is one thing for certain though . There is no shortage of people trolling these threads who are eager to show how annoyed the get at other people's posts , and will go out of their way to demonstrate how weak their command of the English language is in long , disjointed , goofball posts . Let me close , Garry , by saying that we humans are lucky that we've got a lot of eyes on the challenges that we are facing now - like climate change - and that many contributions to science and to technology by these people will lead us safely through them all .

[@garryiglesias4074]

@@johnishikawa2200 That's what I said: your facts are wrong, the first problem is you don't understand difference between science and technology.

[@johnishikawa2200]

@garryiglesias4074: Whatever it was that u " said " is unimportant . And I suppose that I'll continue to answer ur wackerdooble posts until I get bored . Incidentally , I forgot more science than u could ever learn , Garry . Perhaps that's the clearest nugget that emerges from ur posts .

[@safiremorningstar]

Before then layman hooks lens and please bear in mind I'm using voice to text which doesn't always write things down the way I would like it to write things down the first microscopes used a drop of water in a little hole to hold it in place so that they could see things much like he did with the lens. It is only because he was a master Craftsman and could actually make something slightly more permanent and more powerful that we have our modern microscopes. One could call him the father of modern microscopes.

[@koreboredom4302]

I can' believe you young whippersnappers think this footage is "bad quality".

[@babybirdhome]

Well, by today’s standards, it is. We have 8k video and this was only uploaded in 480p. That’s 1/256th the resolution we would’ve filmed something like this in today, or ~0.25% to 1% of the expected quality of a 2024 upload from something like the BBC.

[@rgw5991]

@@babybirdhome im gay

[@mRahman92]

@@babybirdhome Just hoe many youtube videos are actually uploaded to 8k? How many people actually own an 8k display? Stop projecting todays "standards" onto old footage. They're not going to reshoot the whole documentary just for some shallow kids. You think this video was originally broadcast yesterday? It wasn't. To be so young and naïve.

[@Slay_No_More]

​@@rgw5991sorry about your luck

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

@@babybirdhome When this was originally recorded, 480 was fine quality. They could have uploaded it in a much higher standard, but it would still be 480 video, due to how it was recorded for television 20 years ago.

[@anilshirsat4406]

Thanks to the Great Antonie leeuwenhoek for his invention in the field of Physics as well as in Microbiology. 🙏🙏🙏

[@Shif80]

Does anyone know what program this is from?

[@dandyboyfapples6531]

Probably the hidden kingdom. Three part series by Dr Adam Rutherford

[@GearsOfCake]

We would if this channel ever bothered to put it in the description

[@TerryBollinger]

His lenses were not ground. Making others think that is how he kept his secret. Pull a piece of hot lime glass into a long filament, break the filament, heat one end briefly, and you get one of his perfectly spherical lenses. I've made and used them myself, and they work nicely. Most of his work was building the frame, not the lens.

[@wbeaty]

...then mass production, so everyone can look at their own fleas (writhing while stabbed onto the little needle.) I wonder if Van L. made any coin from this. Perhaps more popular even than Kaleidoscope, which made not a penny for Professor Brewster.

[@1minuteofgaming596]

Magnifying glass was made by Muslims, not by some random dude called hook. Al- Hytham is the father of optics.

[@DeformedMonkeys]

"I've looked down a fair amount of microscopes in my time." "Oh wow, I can see things moving!"

[@holysong2099]

Um, that's 'cause he wasn't expecting it from that particular microscope?

[@itoibo4208]

@@holysong2099 plus he is making a video. I assume he knew exactly what he was getting into, since that matters when deciding if you want to spend hours, days, and possibly weeks on making a video about something.

[@itoibo4208]

now, it could be that he simply met this guy, and tried the lens, and then made a video of himself collecting the water, etc., or was told he could take the boat out. He may have seen the sample before making any of the video. idk. Either way, it is good to act enthused for the audience.

[@markfox1545]

*number of microscopes.

[@DS-xg9kf]

I think this video was recorded using the very lens in question

[@endicottsummers203]

Good one!

[@IamLookingforWoody_________786]

Why you guys upload videos at 480p😒😒😒?

[@moc5541]

I recall the phrase "wee animicules", or something close to that, said about what he saw.

[@wbeaty]

Since 1985 we know how Leeuwenhoek did it: no lens-grinding. All his lenses were melted droplets, perfect spheres, but then mounted against a tiny hole drilled in brass foil, to eliminate most spherical aberration. The myth about "lens grinding" let him keep his secret safe for centuries. Poor Robert Hooke had to actually grind his tiny microscope objectives, and then never duplicated leeuuwenhoek's 2000X instrument. Also, these devices were not crude. "Modern" microscopes let you move your face away from the sample being viewed, so various illumination schemes can then be used. Leeuwonhoek's version had to be held in a sunbeam. But it was a century-long myth that "single lens" instruments were inferior to professional scopes. No, and it took centuries before professional scopes approached the quality and magnifying power of Leeuwonhoek's best devices.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

I have seen drawings of these microscopes, but this is the first time I have seen a real one in use...👍

[@EKA201-j7f]

At 4:08-12, you can see through the lens.

[@michasosnowski5918]

I would love to get my hands on one of these! :)

[@TTTzzzz]

Perhaps you could make one!

[@imqqmi]

Break a jam jar and start grinding and polishing!

[@johntower64]

🤤🥶🥴😵😵‍💫

[@Thoran666]

Very interesting and a genius invention, but fiendishly difficult to use? All Hans said was turn it the right way, move close to the eye and use the focus wheel. The instructions have not changed in 300 years. 😀

[@Kronax]

bro is like I've looked into my fair share of microscopes eheh I like how hans had to tell him mf it's a pinhole lens look at it *close* to your eye

[@zeph0shade]

"until Van Leeuwenhoek, obody had the curiosity to find out..." I'd argue there was likely plenty of people with enough curiosity, he was just the first person with both the curiosity AND the tools needed to act on it.

[@TrillShatner]

(See's thumbnail).. Ah yes, the needle in the eye... That could certainly change things.

[@pedroncfidalgo]

How does the focusing wheel work?

[@tombassman]

On a modern simple microscope there’s a focusing wheel that moves the slide holding the water closer to or further from the lens. It looks like it’s doing the same here.

[@jrnandreassen3338]

Transcription 1:59 is wrong. The name isn't Loncar.

[@NexAngelus405]

I knew about this microscope already because the protagonist of Parallel World Pharmacy made a replica of it using his knowledge of his past life as a modern-day pharmacologist and uses it to explain how his medicine cured the Empress of her tuberculosis.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

yt doesn't support 576 and downscale it to 480 destroying image quality with low bitrate please render to 720p50 at least

[@dmontes133]

Omg,that is so amazing!

[@adamSmith_1723]

Bro literally started everything and didn't tell a soul how he made his discovery

[@DopravniPoradce]

So the company Levenhuk is named after him or was founded by him?

[@Kannpass]

They decided to stop the video as it got incredible.

[@ssmbssmbssmb]

I made it using torch bulb lenses 40 years ago.

[@i12cu2]

Magnifiing 500 times?! 😳 I want such a lens!

[@Fiskene]

This video kind of explained how you could make one yourself.

[@jimferry6539]

Why? is it really that small

[@satibel]

you can get a 1000x digital microscope for like 10-15 bucks nowadays and an analog one is even cheaper. though if you want a single lens probably the easiest solution is to cast glass using a bearing ball as the positive, or find small glass marbles with no imperfections. another option would be clear waterbeads, they're disposable but very cheap per unit.

[@holysong2099]

@@Fiskene Only it's a nightmare to make.

🎶 There must be something in the water 🎶

[@gobblinal]

Did they have magnifying glasses at the time? Was this just taking that process and pushing it to an extreme?

[@richardgrier8968]

"I see green...red roses, too...."

[@rickintexas1584]

What a wonderful world.

[@shishir6242]

Magnificent 👌

[@kuukeli]

love the video....thank you ....

[@Anu-re5ew]

The Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, over 120 years old, is in critical condition and threatens millions of lives. Monsoon season is upon us, when the dam reaches capacity, and this year's rains could be disastrous. We need to get it addressed! Please consider creating a special program highlighting the urgency of addressing this dam's safety concerns. Let's work together to prevent a catastrophe. #SaveMullaperiyar #KeralaDamSafety

[@williamgrissom1995]

I think that microscope would work well for me, since I see very well up close.

[@gulsmvlogs4170]

Wow Amazing! Never knew about that!

[@laxmangaikwad8751]

4:13 Your eye is the camera. I can see it in the video.

[@mtme]

2:29 A microscope....to look at a microscope 😂

[@DaveG-rs3xp]

Cool and yes, incredible.

[@Ajaykrishna97_]

Very clearly visible in 480p 🥸

[@batman_2004]

Fascinating. 😊

[@undercoverbrother67]

It's not that nobody had the curiosity to ask what was in the water before him... but they didn't have a microscope!

[@williamkuhns2387]

The Dutch invented these first microscopes were actually invented to inspect the fine quality of cloth weave. Then they started to observe other things like human and dog spermatizoa.

[@mikebocchinfuso9437]

I never knew that it was so powerful, 500x ! I wonder why nobody thought of this before, I mean even a one with 100x would have shown much!

[@bijoychandraroy]

bro changed the whole timeline

[@matthewkeating-od6rl]

Great vid

[@Aminuts2009]

HONEY!!! I know what i want for Christmas!

[@skybluskyblueify]

Animalcules. I love the way described these newly visible things. Critics said that the lense distorts what they see so why should they trust anything that is said to be seen? Others said that God did not intend for us to see it because He did not create an eye that could see the microbes. It was His secret world for Him to know and for us to "butt out" of. The things they said is very entertaining to read.

[@paulbecket7399]

I bought a cardboard version from a comic book when I was a kid

[@markopolo5695]

I find it amazing that someone one day thought I KNOW! LETS MAKE A MICROSCOPE by polishing a piece of glass and fitting it onto a brass plate HOW?

[@xx133]

Humans have been around for 100,000 years. First instinct should be, "really? no one thought of this? I can literally look into a pool of water and see the magnification of objects magnify." Truth is, the first recorded use of a microscope is 4000 years ago, but it's likely that it had been understood earlier (Egyptians, greeks, chinese, etc). People had the means to polish clear stones for thousands of years, understood that microscopic creatures existed in theory, and were intelligent and curious enough to tinker.

[@printface4935]

That room looks like Vermeer's studio.

[@Del-Canada]

Video still rendering.

[@alanrobbie4851]

Imagine seeing that for the first time...

[@jimparsons6803]

How about that... 'many of the fundamental breakthroughs in science seem simple, so absurdly simple... ' asking the question then is the crux? Well done and well presented. There are still crafty folks making this widgets?

[@affordablevoices]

That is so cool.

[@MrWiseinheart]

2:30 looking through a magnifying glass to make magnifying glass.