Question

Compare and contrast the function and structure of a compound light micrscope and electron micscrope

Answer 1

The major difference between a light microscope and a electron microscope would be that with the light microscope, a beam of light is used to focus the image. In an electron microscope, a beam of electrons is used to focus the image. Other notable differences would be with the light microscope, your specimens must be very thin; thin enough for light to pass through them. With the EM, you can place whole specimens that can generate 3D images. There is a much more complex specimen preparation process for the EM, where light microscope slide making is fairly simple in comparison. You can view live and wet specimens with a light microscope but you cannot with the EM because an EM requires specimens to be placed in a vacuum chamber. Lastly, the EM is very large and complex to operate, where the light microscope is somewhat portable. Hope this helps!