The limts of light miscrope

• Organisms are made up of cells.
• Most organisms are multicellular and have cells that are specialised to do a particular job.
• Microscopes are needed to study cells in detail.
• The magnification of a microscope is not the only factor that’s important when viewing cells.
• The detail that can be seen in an image depends on the resolution, which is measured in dots per inch (dpi) or resolving power.
• The resolution of a light microscope is around 0.2 μm, or 200 nm, meaning it cannot distinguish two points closer than 200 nm.
• The electron microscope uses a beam of electrons instead of light rays.
• There are two types of electron microscope: the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the transmission electron microscope (TEM).
• The scanning electron microscope (SEM) has a large field of view and can be used to examine the surface structure of specimens.
• The transmission electron microscope (TEM) is used to examine thin slices or sections of cells or tissues.
• The limit of resolution of the transmission electron microscope is now less than 1 nm.
• The TEM has revealed structures in cells that are not visible with the light microscope.