Question

Describe the details you were able to see when viewing specimens with the scanning electron microscope in the microscope activity.


Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) are useful for studying the details of a specimen’s surface. The electron beam scans the specimen’s surface, which is coated with a thin layer of gold metal. The electrons that scatter off of the gold-coated surface are focused onto a screen, forming a detailed image of the specimen surface. The image is three-dimensional and black and white.