FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Cesar M. Salvan]

Microscopy is one of my passions. I am fortunate to be a scientist and, during my career, I learned and used several microscopy techniques. One of them is the scanning electron microscope (SEM). During the last 8 years, I handled the SEM instrument in my former research institution and performed hundreds of EDS micro-analyses for my research projects, for other colleagues and, of course, EDS analysis of minerals. In my happiest memories always will be my SEM sessions, sitting at the controls of the instrument until dawn, exploring the micro-world in a sort of "vertical journey" that I would never change for the best trip you can imagine (perhaps a trip in the starship Enterprise could compete...).

As a result of this work, I have a huge personal archive of SEM images and EDS spectra. Most of them probably will never be used in papers or publications. For a reason irrelevant here, I have reviewed my photo collection and I thought why not share these beautiful (at least for me) photos with a community that could appreciate it (at least I feel that). I cannot imagine a better place to create this "virtual gallery" than FMF. So here goes...in successive posts I will share my favorite pictures (by aesthetics or significance). Better to enjoy them than to forget them in the depths of a hard drive.

Almost all images were taken using backscattering electron detector and are in false color.

[Jordi Fabre]

Woow!

[captaincaveman]

Stunning pictures

[Pierre Joubert]

Keep them coming Cesar!

[Tobi]

Incredible!!!

[Darryl]

Wooow and stunning are under statements but at least they are printable on a public forum. I can see why you enjoyed your work so much. Please send additional photos so we can share your "journey". You comment about a voyage on a space ship reminded me of my days in optical mineralogy. There were about 10 of us in a small lab, all using heavy oils to determine refractive indexes of minerals etc. Changing the depth of focus on the petrographic scopes gave a "zooming" view much like going into warp drive on the Startreck TV series. But after a while you realized it was time to get out of the lab for some fresh air or you were going to go on a real trip and not get the assignment done.

[Roger Warin]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Amazing pictures.
Roger.

[Ed Huskinson]

Holy cow!! Great photos, Cesar. Please post more. These are so unusual. I envy you your time spent at the controls of the SEM machine. Thanks for sharing.

Ed in Kingman

[Don Lum]

Cesar,

Thank you for posting these incredible images. They are fascinating. Please keep posting.

Don

[Cecil Bankston]

How are the colors added to the SEM images?

[Martin Rich]

Great!!!!

Martin

[Cesar M. Salvan]

Thanks for the enthusiastic reception.

[Pedro Alves]

Good initiative Cesar.

Let's share something!
Pyromorphite: yellow;
Corkite: pink;
quartz: bluish grey;
Goethite: brown.
From Serra da Mina mine, Cercal do Alentejo, Portugal.

[Pedro Alves]

Kintoreite and goethite.
From Pinhal do Souto Mine, Tragos, Portugal.

[Vinoterapia]

Amazing pictures, thanks to you both for showing them. I enjoy being a "Contemplanionists".