Kibet

Author bio:

I am a Machinist that operates a big machine to look at very tiny things. I live a solitary life working for a company to maximise the amount of time I can be at work. I do live to work and since my days are numbered, I need to pass on my knowledge and so every day counts in teaching people to get the most out of the electron microscopes.

What is an Electron Microscope? It uses electrons rather than light, allowing us to see smaller things.
Why? Resolution!
Think of a rock in a river, if the wave in the river is larger than the rock, then you will not be able to see the rock.
If the wave in the river is the same size as the rock, then you will see it is there but you will not see any details
If the wave is much smaller than the rock, then you see it is there and all the details.

So because the electrons have a wavelength of 2.51 x10-12 meters, then it can see atoms that are ~1 x10-10 meters apart. Light is 4-7 x10-7 so you will not get atomic resolution.

Hope that explains what I do. Yes I am a geek.