High Voltage Microscopy in Paleontological Studies – Graptolites
Transmission electron microscopy has seldom been used in studies of fossils, and to date, no electron diffraction work has been reported. Because of the limited transmission power of the 100 kV electron microscopes (<lμ), the techniques which have been used to prepare specimens have followed standard biological methods, including ultra-thin sectioning and staining. High voltage electron microscopy on the other hand allows examination of considerably thicker specimens (up to 5μ at 500 kV) and is particularly useful in studying fossils e.g. it is often not necessary to section pieces of the fossil. Minimal preparation is advantageous because materials that have been interred in rocks of the earth's crust for millions of years are commonly brittle and distort or break while being sectioned with the microtome.