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Part 1 Have you ever seen the microscopic world?

Electron microscopes offer you a clear view of the microscopic world.

The microscopic world is a small world that is not visible to us in our daily lives. This world is full of various wonders, which are hard for us to understand with our common sense.

The microscopic world is full of 'discoveries'

First, I will take you the microscopic world. You must have a myriad of things that you would be interested in observing close up, whether something in your backyard, a hair or other part of your body, food from the kitchen, plants on the balcony or your favorite clothes.

[Image] Hair
Hair: Smooth and healthy hair by high-density of the hair cuticle

[Image] Potash of yam
Potash of yam: Calcium oxalate crystals look like sharp-edged knives.

[Image] Sunflower pollen
Sunflower pollen: The shape of pollen looks too likely to cause a runny nose or sneezing.

[Image] Part of a stocking
Part of a stocking: Its unexpectedly ordered and pretty patterns are unique.

[Image] Experience the microscopic world! One glance will take you to an exciting and amazing world.

All these photos of the microscopic world were taken by the 'Miniscope TM-1000', a desktop microscope by Hitachi using electronic microscope technology, at 100-fold through 2,500-fold magnification.
As the photo shows, we can see that the cuticle of a damaged hair looks frayed, while it looks to have finely arranged scales under normal conditions. In addition, the skin around the mouth starts to itch when we eat a yam, as these invisible thorns of crystals in the photo of the yam stimulate the skin. Moreover, stockings do not run easily thanks to these interwoven firmly thin fibers.
As just described, there are many 'discoveries' to be made in the microscopic world.

Cutting-edge technologies that show us the invisible world

How then does an electron microscope magnify and show us such a small thing? To give a clear explanation, we can compare it to an optical microscope as follows: Optical microscopes are widely known as an excellent observation tool, indispensable for science classes in schools. However, since an optical microscope uses light to capture an object, it is impossible to observe an object smaller than the wavelength of light, which is invisible to human eyes, with an optical microscope. In addition, the magnifying power of optical microscopes is maximally approximately one thousand times and they are not suitable to observe an object with a diameter of 0.1 ms (one 10-thousandths of a millimeter) or smaller than that of a bacterium, including viruses.

[Image] Structures of Optical microscope and Electronic microscope

[Image] Cutting-edge technologies for electron microscopes have been introduced! Electron beams have enabled the observation of the invisible world.

Meanwhile, electron microscopes use 'electron beams' whose wavelengths are shorter than visible light. The image of the object is made from electrons detected after passing through, reflecting or coming out on impact of it when it is exposed to a beam of electrons. If the electron beam is more powerful and thinner, we can observe smaller viruses and even the inside of tissue.

You can now view an atom, 0.1 nanometer (one 10-millionths of a millimeter) or smaller, using the world's best class electron microscope developed by Hitachi. With electron microscopes, you can also observe viruses, including bird flu viruses, which have been mentioned in the news in recent years.
If Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, now well known because his face is featured on the Japanese thousand-yen bill, could have used an electron microscope, he would almost certainly have easily discovered the yellow fever virus.

The user-friendly compact electron microscope has been launched onto the market!

[Image] Pursuing compact size, lightweight and energy saving features! Eco-ideas have enabled easy-to-operate equipment.

Electron microscopes have been used for various purposes, including R&D and quality control for biotechnology, semiconductors, medical care, materials and food, and occasionally in investigations to determine the cause of environmental contamination. This gave the impression that electron microscopes were high-tech and expensive products that could be used only by specialists with professional training.
However, the 'Miniscope TM-1000', Hitachi' s desktop microscope, radically altered the conventional view of electron microscopes.

[Image] Equipment that once had the image of being fit for specialists only is now available as an easy-to-use desktop electron microscope!

The principle of the scanning electron microscope, one of the technologies used in electron microscopes, is applied to the 'Miniscope'. Its compact size and lightness are quite apparent from the nickname. In addition, it is low-priced, adopting an energy-saving design, user-friendly simple operations and high power for magnification of up to 10,000. Once one gets interested in the microscopic world, it is hard for even adults to suppress their curiosity, let alone children. Our eyes are opened to things that have previously been invisible. You can enjoy an impressive view of the microscopic world easily with the Miniscope.

Is 4.95 million yen expensive or low-priced?

[Image] SU-1500, the Hitachi electron-scanning microscope. Priced at 19 million yen or higher.

While it is pointless to make a simple comparison, if you know about electron microscopes, you must be surprised with the 4.95 million yen price of 'Miniscope TM-1000'.
The price of conventional products is at least 10 million yen. It is normal for electron microscopes that the price of some models in a series reaches into hundreds of millions of yen.

Left picture: SU-1500, the Hitachi electron-scanning microscope. Priced at 19 million yen or higher.
This is an electron microscope attached to a desk that allows for observation at magnifications of up to 300,000.

Related Links

State-of-the-art Electronic Microscopes are Now More Familiar than ever
  1. Part 1 Have you ever seen the microscopic world?
  2. Part 2 Contributing to the further development of eco-technologies!
  3. Part 3 The first job in my career that my kids can understand.