Scale and Magnification

An Australian 20 cent piece magnified 20 million times would cover S.E. Queensland!
An Australian 20 cent piece magnified 400 million times would have the same diameter as planet earth!

Bacteria on the head of a pin

The subject is a pin with bacteria on it. Progressively the magnification increases to the point that resolution is exceeded with Scanning Electron Microscopes and we shift to the higher resolution of Transmission Electron Microscopes. We increase in magnification until we resolve columns of atoms in various crystal planes in the magnetosome of a magnetotactic bacteria.

Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) of the head of a metal pin.
Magnification x 33.
SEM – Magnification x 45
SEM – Magnification x 100
SEM – Magnification x 200
SEM – Magnification x 350
SEM – Magnification x 500
SEM – Magnification x 1,000
SEM – Magnification x 3,000
SEM – Magnification x 5,000
SEM – Magnification x 15,000
SEM – Magnification x 30,000
SEM – Magnification x 75 000
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM)
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