Brief History (2nd Part)

 Charles A. Spencer

-  known as America's first microscope maker.

- published his first catalog in 1838.

- In 1865, he founded the company C.A. Spencer

& Sons in Canastota, New York, but moved the
business to Geneva, New York in 1873 to
manufacture microscopes for the Geneva Optical
Co. 

- Present day instruments give magnifications up

to 1250 diameters with ordinary light and up to
5000 with blue light.

 The Electron Microscope

- Co-invented by Germans, Max Knoll,

and Ernst Ruska in 1931

- electrons are speeded up in a

vacuum until their wavelength is
extremely short

- only one hundred-thousand that of

white light.

-Beams of these fast-moving electrons

are focused on a cell sample and absorbed or scattered by the cell's parts so
as to form an image on an electron-sensitive photographic plate.

 Power of the Electron Microscope

- electron microscopes can make it possible to view objects as small as the

diameter of an atom.

- used to study biological material can "see" down to about 10 angstroms--an

incredible feat
- this does not make atoms visible, it does allow researchers to distinguish
individual molecules of biological importance

- it can magnify objects up to 1 million times

 Light Microscope Vs. Electron Microscope

Light Microscope Electron Microscope

Lower magnification than an electron microscope Higher magnification

No risk of radiation leakage Risk of radiation leakage

Specimen preparation takes about a few minutes or Specimen preparation takes several days
an hour

Both live and dead specimen can be seen Only dead and the dried specimen can be see

The image formation depends upon the light The image formation depends upon the electro
absorption from the different zones of the specimen scattering

Low resolution High resolution

Inexpensive and requires a low maintenance cost Expensive and high maintenance