Whilst you are going to be most familiar with the light microscope (since this is the type you'll use in school and college (and most likely have to label up!) Another much more powerful microscope is The Electron Microscope. Electron microscopes are categorised in 2 types: -

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• A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a

• Transmission electron microscope (TEM).

As their name suggests Electron microscopes use a focused beam of electrons (instead of light).

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It was in the 1930s that Electron microscopes were made. By Focusing a beam of electrons (instead of light), the electron microscopes (EM) were able to achieve a much higher resolution power.

How? 

Electron microscopes achieved better magnification and higher resolutions because electrons have a smaller wavelength than light.

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