Difference between light and electron microscope

Difference between light and electron microscope

Light microscope

1. Light is the illuminating source

2. Specimen preparation takes usually few minutes to hours. Live or dead specimen may be seen

3. Condenser, objective and eye piece lenses are made up of glasses

4. Specimen is stained by coloured dyes

5. It has low resolving power (0.25µm to 0.3 µm). It has a magnification of 500X to 1500X

6. Vacuum is not required

7. Image is seen by eyes through ocular lens

Electron microscope

1. The beam of electrons is the electron source

2. Specimen preparation takes usually takes a few days. Only dead or dried specimen are seen

3. All lenses are electromagnetic

4. Specimen is coated with heavy metals in order to reflect electrons

5. It has high resolving power (0.001µm), about 250 times higher than light microscope. It has a magnification more than 100,000X

6. Vacuum is essential for its operation

7. Image is produced on fluorescent screen or photographic plate