Lesson 2: An Introduction to Electron Microscopes

They Use Electrons to Form An Image

These microscopes use electrons to form an image - there are two types of electron microscopes, we will cover that later!

  • It's unlikely you'll have used these before - they range from £60,000 to £10,000,000 depending on the type and the equipment.
  • Very few schools have this type of microscope, but a lot of universities have them though.

 

A Higher Resolution

They have a higher resolution than optical microscopes, with a maximum resolution of around 0.0002μm.

  • They also have a higher magnification of about 500,000 times - a lot higher than an optical microscope!
  • However, electron microscopes only produce black and white images, but they can be coloured with a computer!