A compound microscope is a type of microscope that uses multiple lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. It is a high power microscope that uses two lenses to increase the magnification of tiny objects that would otherwise not be observable. The first lens is called the objective lens, which typically has a magnification ability of 4x, 10x, 40x, or 100x. The second lens is called the eyepiece lens, which multiplies the magnification of the objective lens by another 10x, resulting in a total magnification of 40x, 100x, 400x, and 1000x. Compound microscopes are used to view small samples that cannot be identified with the naked eye, such as cells, tissues, or sections of organs. They provide a two-dimensional image, while a stereo microscope provides a three-dimensional image. Compound microscopes are available in monocular, binocular, trinocular, and multi-head configurations. They are used in various fields, including biology, medicine, geology, and materials science.