AS Biology - Cell Structure - Analyses of Cell Components

Magnification & Resolution

• Magnification = how much bigger the image is than the specimen (the sample you're looking at). 
• It is calculated using the formula:
  Magnification = length of image/length of specimen
  Example: 5mm wide magnified image and 0.05mm specimen; the magnification is: 5 / 0.05 X 100 
• Resolution = how detailed the image is. More specifically it's how well a microscope distinguishes between two points that are close together.
• If a microscope lens can't separate two items, then increasing magnification won't help.

Main microscope types

There are 2 main microscope types:
1) Light microscopes

•  they use light
• have a lower resolution than electron microscopes

2) Electron microscopes

• use electrons instead of light to form an image
• have a higher resolution than light microscopes so give a more detailed image

Electron microscopes - 'Scanning' or 'Transmission'

Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEMs)

• Use electromagnets to focus on…