01.jpg (120.85 KB. 468x542 - viewed 2 times.)Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) create stunning images of even the
tiniest objects. With their distinctive depth of field and incredible amount of
detail, SEM images bridge the gap between science and art in a wonderfully
fluid way.
02.jpg (114.54 KB. 468x477 - viewed 2 times.)Japanese artist and microscopist Susumu Nishinaga has a unique talent
with SEM images. His mastery of the scanning electron microscope has
produced some of the most compelling science images ever seen. But rather
than being dry nature photographs, these images are otherworldly pictures of
parts of our world that we rarely – if ever – get to see.
03.jpg (126.68 KB. 468x495 - viewed 2 times.)Under the powerful eye of the SEM, ordinary (but usually-overlooked)
objects like flower petals, mushroom gills and even housefly noses
become ethereal works of art. Beetle exoskeletons, mosquito bodies and bird
feathers are suddenly transformed into fascinating landscapes of alien worlds.
04.jpg (139.05 KB. 468x485 - viewed 2 times.)Nishinaga’s unique talent is in producing images of blood vessels. In his talented
hands, the SEM turns out extreme close-ups of veins, capillaries and arteries
that look less like the inside of a human body and more like exotic
plants and trees painted in vivid colors.
05.jpg (77.72 KB. 468x352 - viewed 2 times.)Scanning electron microscopes are much more powerful than regular
microscopes, which are able to magnify only up to 1000 times. An SEM, on
the other hand, can magnify up to a million times. The images are often
colored to help laypeople differentiate between parts of the subject and to add
interest to thepictures.
