Figure 6.1In this image of pollen taken with an electron microscope, the bean-shaped grains are about long. Electron microscopes can have a much higher resolving power than a conventional light microscope because electron wavelengths can be 100,000 times shorter than the wavelengths of visible-light photons.In this image of pollen taken with an electron microscope, the bean-shaped grains are about long. Electron microscopes can have a much higher resolving power than a conventional light microscope because electron wavelengths can be 100,000 times shorter than the wavelengths of visible-light photons. (credit: modification of work by Dartmouth College Electron Microscope Facility)
Two of the most revolutionary concepts of the twentieth century were the description of light as a collection of particles, and the treatment of particles as waves. These wave properties of matter have led to the discovery of technologies such as electron microscopy, which allows us to examine submicroscopic objects such as grains of pollen, as shown above.
