The document discusses electron microscopes and their components and operation. Electron microscopes use a beam of electrons instead of light to examine objects at a very fine scale. There are two main types - scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and transmission electron microscopes (TEM). SEMs produce higher resolution images than optical microscopes and work by scanning a focused beam of electrons across a sample. TEMs require electron-transparent samples and work by transmitting electrons through a sample to form an image. Both types of electron microscopes have advanced scientific understanding by allowing observation of microscopic structures.