22.3.10

Phenom-enal

Our university has a Phenom scanning electron microscope.  I was recently trained on how to use it and so I took some time after being trained to play around and learn more about the instrument.  Below are some of the pictures that I took.  See if you can guess at what they are before reading the labels.



It is a booger.



These are diatoms on the shell of a crab's claw.



This is earwax.





These three are a piece of woven cotton fabric.




These are of one of my fingernail clippings.




A Kim-wipe and a piece of notebook paper.


Gold wire contacting microelectronic pad.
The leg of a pillbug.



A pin head.



This is some of my blood.  I poked myself with the pin from the previous pictures and looked at it.  I think the regular cracking circles might be red blood cells.



Cotton from a Q-tip.




Some broken wood from the shaft of the Q-tip.

If there is anything that you would like to see under the SEM let me know and I'll see what I can do.

6 comments:

tpmotd said...

That's awesome! Maybe a piece of plastic, glass, metal, and rubber.

Karen Ahlstrom said...

Wow-- you sure are a boy. Let's get reaaallly close up pictures of earwax, boogers, fingernail clippings and bug bits!

D said...

They say that artists' first works in a new medium are usually self-portraits. I hadn't realized that applied to microscropy.

Ds said...

While I'd like to call the earwax, boogers, fingernail clippings, and blood a self-portrait it's really because those are the things I could find in a semi-clean room environment.

Rebecca Holt Stay said...

I thought it was cool how the cotton of the cloth and from the Q-tip were clearly the same stuff. And the beautiful detail in the wood.

Jeralyn said...

Amazing... I found myself being fascinated by some of those things and disgusted with others! Well, I suppose that is science, eh? Way cool instrument though :) I must say YOU are PHENOMENAL!! We are super proud of you & your work... keep it up!!