Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Real-Time 3D Electron Microscopy
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) able to show a three-dimensional image in real-time has been developed by researchers from Hitachi High-Technologies Corp, Eizo Nanao Corp, Niigata University and Shizuoka University. The device will be used to analyze the structure of both inorganic and organic materials.
(Use your red/blue glasses to see this image)
For obtaining three-dimensional images by using normal SEMs, it is necessary to synthesize still images equivalent to images seen by the right and left eyes (parallax images) after taking those images from different angles by tilting the stage and to observe them with red/blue glasses, etc. However, with this method, it takes time to obtain and make adjustment to parallax images, and it is not possible to observe the SEM image of a specimen in real time.This time, the research group developed a technology to scan a specimen at high speeds while switching the angle of an electron beam directed at a specimen and succeeded in instantly obtaining right and left parallax images. Specifically, an electron beam is slanted by the converging effect of the electromagnetic lens.
Though the aberration caused by slanting an electron beam lowers resolution, the group developed a new electro-optical system and a scan control technology for electron beam and applied them for the SEM.
The control of the direction of electron beam's tilt is conducted by using a special magnet coil and switching among left-leaning scanning, normal scanning, right-leaning scanning, etc for each line and frame. As a result, the research group realized a high scanning speed of 33ms/frame and real-time 3D observation.
Science fiction fans have been waiting for this view for more than a century. In his 1895 story The Crack of Doom, Robert Cromie wrote about an amazing tool that allowed a real-time, three-dimensional view of the atoms themselves:
In appearance, this marvel of micrology, so far as the eye-piece and upper portions went, was like an ordinary microscope, but its magnifying power was to me unbelievable. It magnified the object under examination many thousand times more than the most powerful microscope in the world.I looked through the upper lens, and saw a small globe suspended in the middle of a tiny chamber filled with soft blue light, or transparent material. Circling round this globe four other spheres revolved in orbits, some almost circular, some elliptical, some parabolic.
(Read more about Cromie's atomic microscopy)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/5/2012)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.' - Roger Zelazny, 1967.
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.' William Gibson, 1984.
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.' - Frank Herbert, 1958.
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large
The Shape of Things To Come
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.'
What'll You Have? Extinct Animals Returned, Or Synthetic Eggshells?
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.'
RentAHuman App Lets AI Agents Hire Humans
'She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew about whatever it was that she was playing with on her screen.'
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing Runs With His G1 Robot Army
'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
AIs Turn Marxist Under Bad Management
'It was a general strike of the robots...'
Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
