Episode 10: Seeing With Electrons

The optical microscope was discovered in the 17th century and ever since has been a staple of scientific discovery. It uncovered germs and let humanity investigate the microscopic world. However, optical microscopes face a limit to their resolution since they rely on visible light. If materials scientists were going to ever probe atoms, grains, domains, and other features smaller than a few hundred nanometers, it would be necessary to fundamentally change the way we see matter.

In this episode we talk about electron microsopes. Their history, how they work, and some of the incredible advantages and features they offer to scientists. There are some great papers out there we pulled from to make this episode. Like this one highlighting the key events in the History of Electron Microscopy. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927603030113

If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, google play or wherever you find your podcasts. If you like the show and want to help us reach more people, consider leaving a review - it helps us improve and it exposes new people to the show. Finally, check out our Instagram page @materialism.podcast and connect with us to let us know what new material you’d like to hear about next. We’d like to give a shoutout to AlphaBot for allowing us to use his music within the podcast. Check him out on Spotify. And as always a special thanks to Kolobyte who created the intro and outro for our podcast. He makes a ton of really cool synthwave music which you can check out at kolobyte.bandcamp.com.

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Om Podcasten

In this podcast, Taylor and Andrew investigate the past, present, and future of materials science and engineering. Topic areas ranging from cutting edge materials technology, the history of different materials, the commercialization of new materials, and exciting advances in processing and characterization are all covered in detail. Our episodes include things like the unlikely discovery of superglue or teflon, the fascinating backstories about modern biomaterials like dialysis filters, and updates on new technologies including wearable electronics, next generation batteries, and nanomaterials. In short, we hope to help listeners understand the critical role that materials have played in society and even glimpse into what the future may hold for new materials.