Final answer:
The compound light microscope, a brightfield, or darkfield, uses light to focus on specimens, allowing live viewing but with lower resolution compared to electron microscopes that offer higher magnification and detail on non-living ultra-thin specimens.
Step-by-step explanation:
The compound light microscope, such as a brightfield microscope with a stain or without a stain, and a darkfield microscope, generally uses lenses to focus light on a specimen producing an image. These are some of the light microscopy techniques apart from phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy. However, for greater magnification and resolution, electron microscopes are used, which include a transmission electron microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Unlike light microscopes, electron microscopes require specimens to be ultra-thin and non-living, as the preparation process will kill any living cells.
Electron microscopes can provide high-detail images due to the use of electron beams—which have shorter wavelengths than light—allowing for greater magnification and resolution. However, they can't be used to view live specimens, as samples must be placed in a vacuum and are subjected to heavy metal staining, which kills them. On the other hand, light microscopes can be used to view living organisms, albeit with lower resolution.