Medical Uses
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A medical researcher can use a SEM to compare samples of healthy and unhealthy blood and tissue samples to determine what is causing an illness in a patient. They can also study the effect of medicine on a patient by observing the differences between the unhealthy patients and those patients given medicine. |
Forensics
| Police laboratories need SEM’s to examine evidence. A SEM can be used to compare such things as metal fragments, paint, and inks. Hair and fibers can also be examined to prove a person’s guilt or innocence. By comparing a sample found at the scene of a crime to a similar sample found belonging to a suspected criminal, detectives can closely determine if the samples are a match. |  |
Metals
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Metal samples can be examined with the SEM to determine strength in different conditions such as cold and heat. Experts study the metal from the frame of a crashed airplane to determine if there was a flaw in the metal that caused the crash. Studies are also done on the metal before it is used in a plane, car, train, boat or anything that would require a strong metal for reasons of safety. By studing samples from the hull of the Titanic, scientists were able to discover that the metal had shattered because the cold water had caused it to become brittle. |
Scientific ResearchÂ
| There are many different areas in scientific research where the SEM can be used. Any scientist that needs to look at extremely small samples canuse the SEM. For example, Biologists use the SEM to look at plant or animal cells and tissues, Chemists examine microscopic crystals, and Material Scientists view the structure of metals, ceramics, and plastics. These are only a few of the ways a SEM can be used for scientific research. |  |