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Electron Microscopes
Gateways to the hidden world of the super small.
An electron microscope (EM) is a type of microscope
that uses an electron beam to illuminate a specimen and
produce a magnified image.
The electron microscope uses electrostatic and
electromagnetic lenses to control the electron beam and
focus it to form an image. These electron optical lenses are
analogous to the glass lenses of a light optical microscope.
The original form of electron microscope, the transmission
electron microscope (TEM) uses a high voltage electron
beam to create an image.
An EM has greater resolving power than a light microscope and
can reveal the structure of smaller objects because electrons have
wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than visible light
photons. They can achieve magnifications of up to about
10,000,000x
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a technique
where a beam of electrons is transmitted through an ultra-thin
specimen. An image is formed from the interaction of the
electrons transmitted through the specimen. The image is
magnified and focused onto a fluorescent screen, or a layer of
photographic film, or to be detected by a sensor such as a CCD
camera.
The major disadvantage of the transmission electron microscope is
the need for extremely thin sections of the specimens, typically
about 100 nanometers. All images are 2D. Seen below is a plant
cell in the tip of a root.
Scanning electron microscope. This scope uses a
focused beam of high energy electrons to view the
surface of solid specimens. Magnification ranges from
20X to 30,000X.
Ebola Virus
Silicon atoms in a silicon crystal
Nano circuit
Bacteria on the surface of the human tongue
Surface of an erasable, programmable, read-only memory, silicon microchip
Eyelash hairs growing from the surface of human skin
Surface of a strawberry
Household dust: includes long hairs of cat fur, twisted synthetic and
woollen fibers, serrated insect scales, a pollen grain, and plant and
insect remains
Head louse clinging to human hair
Mushroom spores
Butterfly eggs on a raspberry leaf
Calcium phosphate crystal
Surface of a rusty nail
Cut human hairs and shaving foam between two razor blades
Nylon stocking fibers
An ant holding a microchip