Instrument that is similar to a light microscope but uses a beam of electrons, not light, to scan surfaces and create an image; magnification 1,000 times that of an optical microscope is possible.
A microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a radiation source for viewing the specimen. The resolving power (ability to register fine detail) is a thousand times greater than that of an ordinary light microscope. The specimen must be examined in a vacuum, which necessitates special techniques for preparing it, and the electrons are usually focused onto a fluorescent screen (for direct viewing) or onto a photographic plate (for a photograph, or electron micrograph).
A microscope that uses streams of electrons deflected from their course by an electrostatic or electromagnetic field for the magnification of objects. The final image is viewed on a fluorescent screen or recorded on a photographic plate. Because of greater resolution, images may be magnified up to 400,000 diameters.