TEM
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Physics
| Stands for | Transmission electron microscope |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
TEM stands for Transmission electron microscope, a physics abbreviation.
Microscope that sends a beam of electrons through an ultrathin sample, producing images of internal structure at resolutions down to a fraction of a nanometer, enough to see individual atomic columns. TEM is essential for studying viruses, cell organelles, nanomaterials and crystal defects.
Example: TEM revealed the virus particles were about 100 nanometers across, with a crown of surface spikes.
Usage notes
Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll built the first electron microscope, a TEM, in 1931; Ruska received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. Samples must be thinner than about 100 nanometers and are viewed in vacuum. Aberration-corrected instruments resolve features below 0.1 nanometer.
Related abbreviations
More physics abbreviations
- SM – Standard Model
- sonar – Sound navigation and ranging
- SQUID – Superconducting quantum interference device
- SR – Special relativity
- STM – Scanning tunneling microscope
- SUSY – Supersymmetry
- TOE – Theory of everything
- TOF – Time of flight
- UHF – Ultra high frequency
- UV – Ultraviolet
- UVA – Ultraviolet A
- UVB – Ultraviolet B