Introduction

Many object too small to be seen with the unaided eye can be viewed through a microscope, an
instrument that produces magnified images of such objects. The development of the microscope
greatly affected human life. Before it was invented, little was known about tiny organisms such
as bacteria and protozoa.
Today the microscope is used in many capacities. Microbiologists, for example, use the microscope to
study cell structures and the cell processes that are responsible for life itself. Specialized low-power
microscopes, called stereoscopic binocular microscopes, are used in the assembly of small electronic
circuits and for detailed surgical operations. As an industrial tool, the microscope assists in the detection
of food spoilage, drug adulteration, and minute structural defects in metals. It also makes possible
nanotechnology, which involves the manufacture of materials on the scale of billionths of a meter.
The simple and compound microscopes are called optical, or light, microscopes. That is, they use a beam
of light and lenses to magnify objects.

Minute objects too small to be seen by the unaided eye can be viewed through a light microscope.
Scanning Electron Microscope
The scanning electron microscope reveals the surface structure or topography of objects directly.
Like the transmission electron microscope, it has an electron gun, condensers, and objectives.
Its extremely narrow beam of focused electrons moves over, or scans, the specimen. Two types
of electronsbackscattered and secondaryare emitted from the surface of the specimen. Each
type has its own detector. Backscattered electrons move in straight lines, whereas secondary
electrons move in curved paths. The emission of secondary electrons allows for the fine detailing
of electron micrographs.
PAULLY JAYE S. PANGANIBAN