The use of
electrons instead of
photons (light) to get an image of a particularly small subject. While the
limit of resolution of a
visible light (normal) microscope is about 200 nm, the
limit of resolution of an EM is roughly 2 nm (or 20
angstroms).
Two major methods of electron microscopy used in cell biology are
rotary shadowing and
cryo-electron microscopy.
See also:
Scanning Electron Microscopy,
Tunneling Electron Microscopy,
deconvolution, and
confocal.