Jasmine Sears
Undergraduate Student, Applied Physics

Scanning electron microscopes are designed to image conducting materials, such as gold or carbon, using a focused beam of electrons. If part or all of the sample being examined does not conduct well, charging (a buildup of incident electrons) will occur, causing parts of the sample to show up as extremely bright. In the case of this human hair, seen at almost 1000x magnification, the pattern of charging creates a metallic effect.

jasmine@caltech.edu