Joseph Koonrajaksebonde

English 2100

Electron Microscope

An Electron Microscope is an instrument in the lab that scientists use in order to see

things that we may not be able to see clearly with the naked eye. It has a higher magnification

than a typical optical microscope (use of light to magnify materials), this microscope uses

electron beams (allows the eye to register very small atoms that are called particles) to view

different types of specimens such as; cells, metals, crystals and microorganisms. Information

from the electron microscope is used to study the specimen and understand the particles in a

better sense to help solve issues such as viruses, diseases, structure of certain organisms and how

the atoms and particles function within them.

How it Works Where they are Used

Two main types of electron microscopes are a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and

Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), the way that they work is the electron beam uses a

high energy signal that has to focus on a small area of the item/ specimen. Inside the microscopes

are different types of magnetic lenses, that is within a column. There are multiple levels in the

columns, each with different types of sensors that help the eye focus on the beams of electrons

being shot through to view the material. Each level helps to condense the beam that is shot

through and the beam being so tiny that it is barely visible by the human eye. A vacuum chamber

or pipe is attached to the side of the column, sometimes being inside the column. This method is

done because electron beams can be deflected or absorbed by air, the vacuum helps to keep the

beam moving in a straight pattern or line, so it can reach the object correctly. There is also a

detector signal that is usually at the bottom of the scope that collects the information and relays it
to a computer screen, the information is not collected directly by the eye like an optical

microscope that uses light, it must be viewed through some sort of software due to its high

power.

Figure 1 - Electron Microscope

An electron microscope is like a radar detector that people put in their cars to detect cop

radars, people use this so they know that they need to be going the speed limit so they dont get a

ticket for speeding. When the car radar reaches a certain proximity a wave length can be picked

up from the cop radar, the car radar then detects the information and displays a message of x, y

or KA (x is a false detector, y is a speed trap or possibly a cop radar and KA being a cop radar)

on the screen to inform the driver what is coming up. The closer the radars are to one another the

stronger the wave length.

Electron Microscopes are placed in a room of their own, this is due in part to the size of
1 http://science.howstuffworks.com/scanning-electron-microscope2.htm
the scope, the amount of energy it uses and it is also an industrial machine that is extremely

expensive. Certified or specifically trained personal use them. The room usually has the scope

and a computer that shows and reflects the information.

Reasons Why We Use EMs

The use of the Electron Microscopes has helped to detect certain viruses, diseases and pathogens

that people come into contact with or ones that arise. Scientists can identify what particles are

within the species, dissect and break down the information to properly study the material that

they view through the EMs. Other forms of technology like the optical microscope cannot

collect this information because the OM can only magnify so much and light is not picked up as

well as a wave length. There are also different reasons of the use of a Transmission Electron

Microscope and the Scanning Electron Microscope. A TEM needs the sample to be thinly sliced,

because an organic sample can heat up and burn from the electron beam once it shoots through, it

is also a steady scope and usually people want to see through the sample. With the TEM, it is

able to see the breakdown of different viruses and diseases. Below is an image of the adenovirus

which more commonly known as the common cold that children get year round.

Figure 2- Adenosine Virus

An SEM scans the sample and it produces signals that form or create an image, it can be

one image or many different ones. Once collected it helps scientist to understand the parts and
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appearance of the sample and how it is structured and formed. It obtains information of the

surface of an object as well as the composition and what they object is made up of. While the use

of EMs is good to use, they are very sensitive and do not always project clear results. However,

they are able to collect enough information, that scientists can compare them to other alternative

methods they find, that result in a more refined composition of an object.

Alternative Processes

There are quite a few alternatives to using an electron microscope, but they differ in the way they

view objects. A PCR is known as a polymerase chain reaction, it has many functions but one that

stands out is the ability to identify virus or unknown specimen, just like the electron

microscopes. It is also able to amplify and copy small pieces of DNA. Its a machine that is about

the size of printer, you put primers, enzymes and master mix to amplify the questioned DNA.

They help in clinical diagnostics, able to find sequences in DNA, medicine, genomic studies and

the cloning of genes.

A scanning tunneling microscope is also a high resolution scope, however, it doesnt use light or

an electron beam like the SEM and TEM. Rather, it uses a small tip similar to that of a needle to

scan the surface of an object at the atomic level. It scans the object using a voltage that is

conducted between the needle and the surface of the object, it is like a particle going through a

barrier with a certain amount of energy that then paints a picture for scientists. This microscope

is more of a use in quantum mechanics.