Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

13:56
Characterization of Molecular Mechanisms of In vivo UVR Induced Cataract
Published on: November 28, 2012
[The "typical senile cataract" examined under the scanning electron microscope (author's transl)]
Abstract:
Lenses suffering from "typical senile cataract" prepared by "critical point drying"and by sprinkling with gold, were examined under the scanning electron microscope. The images thus obtained gave a three-dimensional representation of structural changes within the lens determined in histological investigations performed with the light microscope.
Related Concept Videos
Scanning Electron Microscopy
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the surface features of a sample by using an electron beam that scans the sample surface in a two-dimensional manner. Typically, areas between ~1 centimeter to 5 micrometers in width can be imaged. SEM can be used to image bacteria, viruses, tissues as well as larger samples like insects. Conventional SEM gives a magnification ranging from 20X to 30,000X and spatial resolution of 50 to 100 nanometers.
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Transmission Electron Microscopy
In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400 keV in...

