Dear Abbe,
My colleagues and I have been wondering if we missed an advancement in physics that improved SEM magnification. In the last few years, SEM manufacturers have magically found a way to increase magnification capabilities and are now claiming up to 1,000,000× without any improvement in tungsten filament resolution beyond 3 nm. They previously all claimed 300,000× maximum. One colleague says they are applying the XEM technique otherwise known as Xerox Enlargement Microscopy (Annals of Improbable Research, Vol. 1, No. 2). Is he correct?
Incredulous in Beaverton
Dear Incredulous,
Mein schmerzender Kopf! How many times have I heard this claim? I would stake money on your colleagues’ observation. There are so many new instruments out there with incredulous marketing. I was very intrigued by XEM technology since encountering it in 1994 through some dubious fellows at Penn State while sharing beverages at their Rathskeller. They seemed rational enough until they started delving into imaging technology. Unfortunately for them, digital imaging showed up, and the ability to iteratively enlarge became so much easier, much like all those ads I get on my SpaceBook pages. Suddenly their ideas were obsolete, like so many technological advances I've created.
What good is all that science education if you can't mix it with some good, old-fashioned voodoo? Let Herr Abbe enlarge your repertoire of irrefutable, anecdotal information at johnshields59@gmail.com.
