Conversation so far:
what type of energy is used in a compound microscope
A compound microscope uses light energy because they have a light source at the bottom
When did the compound microscope first come out?
Compound microscopes first appeared in Europe around 1620.
How does the compound microscope compare to a simple microscope?
A compound microscope enables more advanced illumination setups compared to simple microscopes, such as phase contrast.
what is special about the phase contrast illumination setup
Phase-contrast imaging exploits differences in the refractive index of different materials to differentiate between structures under analysis.

Question: are there other benefits compared to the predecessors
Self-contained rewrite: are there other benefits of using a compound microscope compared to the predecessors besides the phase contrast illumination setup