For a compound microscope, the resolving power will be maximum when _____?

Compound Microscope’s Resolving Power Gets Maximum When Violet Light is Used 

To understand better the science behind this, you need to understand what resolving power is. The resolving power of a microscope is the inverse of the shortest distance between two separate points in a microscope’s field of view that can be seen distinctly.

Resolving power is given as,

Resolving power = 1/Δd = 2a/λ

Where Δd = shortest distance between two separate points, a = aperture, and λ = wavelength

The resolving power of the microscope is given as,

Resolving power = 1/Δd = 2a/λ

Resolving power ∝ 1/λ …. (1)

We know that the relation of the wavelength of the red light, violet light, infrared light, and the visible light is given as,

λinfrared > λred > λvisible > λvoilet

By equation 1 it is clear that the resolving power of the microscope is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the light, so the resolving power for the violet light will be maximum because the violet light has a minimum wavelength.

Hence, option 2 is correct.

Summary:

For a compound microscope, the resolving power will be maximum when __ (A) Red light is used to illuminate the object (B) Violet light is used to illuminate the object, (C) Infra-red light is used to illuminate the object (D) None of the above is true.

When violet light is utilized to illuminate the object in a compound microscope, the resolving power will be at its highest. The science of resolving power works behind this.