Difference between light and electron microscopes

• Light microscope


  Microscope that uses light to magnify objects
• Electron microscope


  Microscope that uses electrons to magnify objects
• Light microscope


  • Small, easy to use, relatively cheap
• Electron microscope


  • Big, very expensive, hard to use
• Light microscope resolution


  Limited to 0.2 micrometers
• Electron microscope resolution


  0.1 nanometers
• Electron microscopes have 2,000 times better resolution than light microscopes
• What light microscopes can see

  • Individual cells like onion cells
• What electron microscopes can see

  • Sub-cellular structures like mitochondria
• This image of a plant cell was taken with an electron microscope
• The image shows the nucleus in the middle and mitochondria around the edge