Through the electron looking glass!
The next BrisScience talk, on the 24th of April, will be from Professor John Drennan and comes with a twist - they’re going to be crossing live to a real electron microscope, which will be used to image everything from minerals to biological cells at magnifications of around 100,000 times zoom! (I don’t know exactly what method they’re using on the night, but it’s going to be impressive!)
Although we call it a microscope it works on a very different principle to your regular variety - instead of shining light on the sample, we measure the electrons (current) that come from the sample when we apply a voltage in a certain way. It might sound strange, but this lets us reach resolutions far better than any conventional method! There are several different methods which are all referred to “electron microscopes” - ranging from Transmission Electron Microscopes where a beam of electrons are passed through a thin sample of the material, to Scanning Tunneling Microscopes where we actual measure the quantum tunneling of electrons off the surface of the material onto a tiny probe whose tip is only one atom wide!
This will be a great opportunity to see an electron microscope in action (possibly with some audience based interaction too, I’m not sure!) so if you’re in Brisbane, definitely try and check it out. For some idea of what you might be seeing, check out this amazing gallery of nanoscale images - my favourite has got to be the cockroache antenna. Just downright creepy…Feel free to post links to other good images!
Here’s the details of the talk:
Date: Monday, April 24
Time: 6:30pm to 7:30pm (doors open at 6:00pm); complimentary wine, soft
drinks, and nibblies follow
Venue: Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts (420 Brunswick St,
Fortitude Valley; www.jwcoca.qld.gov.au)The talk is open to all and there is no need to book.
Please forward this announcement on to friends or colleagues. I can also
send you a poster for your workplace - just let me know whether you’d prefer
an electronic or paper copy. Don’t hesitate to contact Jennifer Dodd (0408 796 357, jdodd@physics.uq.edu.au) with any questions. Looking forward to seeing you on the night!