microscopy

• Magnification is how many times larger an image compared to the actual object.
• Resolution is the minimum distance apart two objects can be and still be seen as two separate objects.
• Optical microscopes use light, have low/weak magnification, and weak resolution due to the limitations of light waves.
• Electron microscopes use a beam of electrons, have high/strong resolution and magnification, and use magnets to focus the beam.
• Transmission electron microscope (TEM) requires a thin section of a sample, produces a black and white 2D image, and requires a vacuum.
• scanning microscopes Don’t require thin specimens because electrons bounce of the surface, pattern of dispersal determines shape of specimen, a 3D image is constructed by a computer and colour can be added. Vacuum so specimen has to be dead, lower resolving power than TEM.