Re: Building electron microscope


Kevin Cunningham wrote:
<mike4ty4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151537263.985311.211190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi.

I heard that building an electron microscope would require "a lot of
money and the resources of a university engineering department". Now, a
few questions, just for curiosity:

1. Would the cost of all the equipment needed to build the thing far
exceed the cost of buying an already-made one (which is around $50,000
- $100,000 last time I checked)?

2. If I had $500,000,000, would getting access to the resources of a
university engineering department be trivial?


If you are not a faculty member using a university engineering dept for free
would be difficult at best.


Since I said if I hyptohetically had $500,000,000, or even
$1,000,000,000 (that's
a frickload of cash!) and therefore it _doesn't have to be "free"_, I
guess this
means that _with that much money_ it would be trivial, right?

To build a EM would require the machining facilities of a plant like Carl
Zeiss to make the column, you don't find those every day. While the
electronics are doable in a primitive fashion if you want to make a good one
you have to be able to make board after board, one mistake and the 'scope
doesn't work.


But with $500,000,000?

Last but not least is safety. Back in the good ole' days a user had to wear
a radiation badge. Head high X-rays were one thing early model transmition
EM's were famous for producing. I don't know about what you do for fun but
I don't think that getting brain cancer is my idea of fun. Oh, then theres
incredibly high voltage and a vacuum better than outer space, fun but
certain problems.

Figure $15mill (US) for the first one.


So, I guess you could, with $500,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 at your
disposal,
easily make a good quantity. Oh, and the vacuum is not "better than
outer
space", outer space is better than any vacuum we can produce
artificially.

Kevin Cunningham
SMS

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Building electron microscope
    ... I heard that building an electron microscope would require "a lot of ... money and the resources of a university engineering department". ...
    (sci.techniques.microscopy)
  • Building electron microscope
    ... money and the resources of a university engineering department". ... Would the cost of all the equipment needed to build the thing far ...
    (sci.techniques.microscopy)
  • Re: Building electron microscope
    ... money and the resources of a university engineering department". ... and the vacuum is not "better than ... outer space is better than any vacuum we can produce ...
    (sci.techniques.microscopy)