EM for dummies - complementary
In the tradition of IDG Books' "… For Dummies" series, this project is an exploration on the basics of electron microscopy in single particle reconstruction, and it's applications to biology. It is intended for the beginner, who has not previously been exposed in much detail to electron microscopy. Emphasis will be on how a biological sample is prepared for use, how an image is made from that sample, and how the images can be interpreted and manipulated to give structural information about the sample.
Not much specific knowledge on the topic discussed is required to understand the material presented here. It is meant for an audience that has some science background, but has not had extensive exposure to the subject of electron microscopy before. The explanations are generally qualitative, although specific values are given where appropriate so that the reader can fit the explanations into a more general scheme of things.
This project is a work in progress and is intended as a running notebook of my experiences in how things work in the field of electron microscopy and single particle reconstruction. Therefore, there will never really be a final "authoritative" version. I'm constantly adding new topics, figures, and discussions, as well as using this project as an HTML testbed.
This project is independent of IDG's "… For Dummies" series. It is a work in the public domain and only uses the "… For Dummies" idea as an indication that the subject is treated at a simple level for everyone. The "… For Dummies" name is © IDG Books.