Why can't an optical microscope see microscopic particles such as protons, neutrons, and electrons?
The observation range of optical or electron microscope refers to various microstructures in cells that cannot be clearly distinguished under ordinary optical microscope. (The resolution limit of an ordinary optical microscope is about 0.2 microns, and the thickness of cell membrane, endoplasmic reticulum membrane and nuclear membrane, and the diameters of ribosomes, microsomes, microtubules and microfilaments are all less than 0.2 microns, so it is observed by ordinary optical microscopes. In addition to these cellular structures, to observe various submicroscopic structures in cells, an electron microscope with higher resolution must be used.) The fine structures with a diameter of less than 0.2 microns that can be seen under an electron microscope are called submicroscopic structures . The smallest particles they can see are molecular structures.
Microscopic particles such as protons, neutrons, electrons, and quarks are basically atoms or particles smaller than atoms. So can't see.
Generally, the diameter of the atom is 0.1 nm, and the nucleus is 10,000 to 100,000 times smaller than the atom.
The limit resolution of a general optical microscope is 200 nm, which is not enough to see atoms, let alone observe atomic nuclei.
The theoretical resolution of electron microscopy can reach the observation of atomic nuclei, but the current technical limitation, the best field emission transmission electron microscope can achieve a limit resolution of 0.08nm, but there is still a long way to observe the atomic nucleus.
