Why do some microscopes use electrons instead of photons?

Question

Why do some microscopes use electrons instead of photons?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Let’s say you have 100 balls and you want to use them to look at the shape of an object.

If the object is a box and you use tennis balls, you’ll get a good idea of the shape of the box based on how the tennis balls bounce off the object.

If the object is a Lego block, the tennis balls won’t show a good picture because they’re too big.

You need to drop 100 beebees on the Lego to get a good picture.

The object you’re using to create the image has tu be much smaller than the object you’re intending to observe.

It’s all about resolution.