Nanoscale Microscopy 2025

Cell

The smallest unit that can live on its own and that makes up all living organisms and the tissues of the body consisting of the cell membrane, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm.

Conductance

A measure of the ease with which an electric current passes through an object.

Resistance

A measure of the opposition of flow of electric current in an object; the ratio of the voltage applied to the electrical current which flows through it (R = V/I).

Resistivity

A factor of resistance that takes into account the nature of the material.

micro- (μ)

10^(-6).

milli- (m)

10^(-3).

nano- (n)

10^(-9).

3D Reconstruction

An image processing technique in which a representation of three-dimensional object is generated based on two-dimensional projections (images) of the object.

Absorption (chemistry)

A physical or chemical phenomenon in which the molecules enter into some bulk phase.

Actin

A protein that forms (together with myosin) the contractile filaments of muscle cells, and is also involved in motion in other types of cell.

Adhesion

The tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another.

Alpha Helix

A common motif of regular protein secondary structure in which a sequence of amino acids in a protein are twisted into a rod-like coil structure.

Amino acid

Organic compounds containing an amine group and a carboxyl group; when linked together, they make up the primary sequence of proteins.

Amplitude (waves)

The maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

A scanning probe microscope that uses atomic forces to image the topography of a surface at the nanometer scale.

Atomic Model

A model used to describe the structure and makeup of an atom (protons and neutrons clump together to form a central nucleus; the electrons move in a cloud-like region around the nucleus).

Attraction

A force that draws one mass toward another.

Bandgap

The distance between the valence band of electrons and the conduction band.

Beta Sheet

A common motif of regular protein secondary structure in which beta strands are connected laterally by hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet.

Bright-field Microscopy

An optical microscopy illumination technique in which the sample illumination is transmitted white light and contrast is caused by attenuation (blocking) of the transmitted light in dense areas of the sample.

Cantilever

A rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end.

Charging Effect

The build-up of either positive or negative potential (charge) at or near the surface of a sample while it is being irradiated by a particle beam.

Circuit board

A medium used to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner.

Constructive interference

A phenomenon in which two coherent waves overlap in such a way that they combine their intensities to create a larger wave.

Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (cryoEM)

An electron microscopy imaging technique applied on samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures.

Cryogenic Electron Tomography (cryoET)

An electron microscopy imaging technique used to reconstruct high-resolution three-dimensional volumes of samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures by imaging the sample at various tilt angles.

Crystal Structure

A description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline material.

Dark-field Microscopy

An optical microscopy technique that uses light to make unstained structures visible; illumination eliminates scattered light from the sample image, resulting in an image with a dark background around the specimen.

Deconvolution

A process of resolving something into its constituent elements or removing complication in order to clarify it.

Defocus

To lose or go out of focus.

Destructive interference

A phenomenon in which two incoherent waves overlap in such a way that they cancel each other out.

Detection Limit

The lowest quantity of a substance that can be distinguished from the absence of that substance (a blank value) with high confidence (generally 99%)

Detector

A device or instrument designed to discover the presence of a particular object or substance and to emit a signal in response

Diffraction

The process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow aperture or across an edge, typically accompanied by the interference between the wave forms produced

Diffraction grating

An optical element that divides (disperses) light composed of many different wavelengths into light components by wavelength

Electric field

A region around a charged particle or object within which a force would be exerted on other charged particles or objects

Electromagnetic Radiation

A type of radiation in which the energy depends on the frequency that is composed of oscillating perpendicular magnetic and electric fields

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends

Electron

A subatomic particle with a negative charge and an intrinsic angular momentum (spin); exhibit properties of both particles and waves

Electron Microscopy (EM)

An imaging technique in which a microscope uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination

Electron Microscopy Grid

A flat disc with a mesh or other shaped holes used to support thin sections of specimen or sample

Electrostatic

Relating to stationary electric charges or fields as opposed to electric currents

Energy

The property of a system that allows it to have the capacity to do work

Feedback Loop

When outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop

Filament (biochemistry)

A slender threadlike object or fiber, especially one found in animal or plant structures

Focal Plane

The plane through the focus perpendicular to the axis of a mirror or lens

Frequency (waves)

The time required for the wave to finish one period

Friction

The force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other

Functional Group

A functional group is a substituent or moiety in a molecule that causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions

Hooke's Law

A law stating that the strain in a solid is proportional to the applied stress within the elastic limit of that solid

Hydrophilic

Water loving

Hydrophobic

Water fearing

Image Convolution

The process of transforming an image by applying a kernel over each pixel and its local neighbors across the entire image

Image Processing

The analysis and manipulation of a digitized image, especially in order to improve its quality

Incidence Angle

The angle between a ray that hits a surface and the normal, which is the line that is perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence

Insulator

A material or an object that does not easily allow heat, electricity, light, or sound to pass through it

Laser

A device that generates an intense beam of coherent monochromatic light (or other electromagnetic radiation) by stimulated emission of photons from excited atoms or molecules

Light Absorption

A property of matter where light with a specific energy can interact with an electron and be promoted to an excited state

Light Emission

When electrons in an excited state drop to a lower energy state, converting that change in energy into a photon with a specific frequency(energy)

Light Scattering

The process by which the paths of waves of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) are altered when interacting with a substance

Protein Loop

A patternless region which connects two regular secondary structures in proteins

Machine Learning

The use and development of computer systems that are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions, by using algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data

Magnetic Field

A region around a magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts

Modulus

A coefficient pertaining to a physical property

Negative Stain

A technique in which the background is stained, leaving the actual specimen untouched

Nucleic Acid

A nucleotide is composed of a sugar group (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base; when linked together, they make up polynucleic acids.

Opaque

(of a material or article) Not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.

Organelle

A subcellular structure that has one or more specific jobs to perform in the cell.

Oscillate

The repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value or between two or more different states.

Phase (waves)

The fraction of a complete cycle corresponding to an offset in the displacement from a specified reference point at time t = 0.

Phase Shift (waves)

Phase difference; the difference between the phases of two periodic signals.

Photodiode

A semiconductor diode which, when exposed to light, generates a potential difference or changes its electrical resistance.

Piezoelectric

The electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials in response to applied mechanical stress.

Polarization

A property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations.

Polypeptide

A biopolymer composed of linked amino acid monomers.

Protein

Large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues.

Protein Data Bank (PDB)

A database for the three-dimensional structural data of large biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, which is overseen by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank.

Qualitative Data

Data that describes qualities or characteristics.

Quantitative Data

Data that can either be counted or compared on a numeric scale.

Raster

A rectangular pattern of parallel scanning lines followed by the electron beam on a television screen or computer monitor.

Reflection

The change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated.

Refraction

The redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another; the redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium.

Refractive index

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to its velocity in a specified medium; a measure of the bending of a ray of light when passing from one medium into another.

Repulsion

The force that exists between two or more comparable or similar charges that drives them away from one another.

Resolution

A measure of the amount of detail in an image.

Resonance/Resonate

The phenomenon, pertaining to oscillatory dynamical systems, wherein amplitude rises are caused by an external force with time-varying amplitude with the same frequency of variation as the natural frequency of the system.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

An electron microscope in which the surface of a specimen is scanned by a beam of electrons that are reflected to form an image.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM)

A high-resolution microscope using neither light nor an electron beam, but with an ultrafine tip able to reveal atomic and molecular details of surfaces.

Spectroscopy

The study of how light interacts with matter.

Spectrum

A band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction according to wavelength.

Stigmatic Microscopy

A microscopy technique that uses astigmatic aberrations in an imaging system to determine the vertical position of an object relative to the focal plane.

Surface Roughness

The quality of a surface of not being smooth and it is hence linked to human perception of the surface texture.

Topography

The study of the forms and features of land surfaces.

Transparent

(of a material or article) Allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.

Ultraviolet (UV) light

A form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 100-400 nm.

van der Waals Forces

Weak, short-range electrostatic attractive forces between uncharged molecules, arising from the interaction of permanent or transient electric dipole moments.

Virus

An infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host.

Visible light

A form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 380-700 nm.

Wave-Particle Duality Hypothesis

The concept in quantum mechanics that quantum entities exhibit particle or wave properties according to the experimental circumstances.