Blog challenge 1

The goal of my project this summer is to create and test labs involving electron microscopy. Electron microscopy is the science and technology of using an electron beam to form magnified images of a specimen. There are many different types of electron microscopes but the one I will be working with is the SEM(scanning electron microscope). In the process of creating an image, the first stage is the production of a beam of electrons. The SEM uses the electron beams to scan the surface of a specimen, whereas a standard microscope would use several lenses and light to produce an image. The only downside to this is that the images are produced in black and white. Compared to a light microscope, the SEM is capable of showing details more in depth than the light microscope would ever be able to. Without the SEM, there were things I would not have been able to notice about my samples otherwise. During my time spent here so far, I have completed 2 different labs involving the SEM. One of the labs I have done was the Synthesis and SEM Analysis of Tamarugite. The objective of this lab was to create a sample of Aluminum Hydroxide and examine the collected sample under the SEM. Today I was able to take the samples of the Aluminum Hydroxide I had previously made and observe it using the SEM. In the next few weeks my job will be to think of a lab, much like the ones I have completed this passed week, and make sure that they appeal to high school students and also the teachers. I will be testing numerous labs until I come up with the best experiment possible.