Nerdy Science Blog

The picture above (right) is a fly’s eyes scanned under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).  SEM is a powerful tool that use high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern to study the surface and characteristic of the sample.  ASPEX Corporation is a leading producer of SEM and Microanalysis software.

SEM is an expensive machine to be purchased by common households, and not every scientist have access to it.  ASPEX offers the readers of this blog a free SEM scan of any sample.  You could send ASPEX a penny, some dirt, your lipstick mark on your husband’s collar, a piece of broccoli, mosquito’s eye etc.  You can simply send anything you wish to see under a powerful microscope to amaze yourself with the beautiful world that you can never see with your naked eyes.

How can you get a free SEM scan and report?  Just following the following instructions:

1. Download and print this form from the ASPEX website.

2. Fill out the form and mail it along with the sample you want to scan to:

ASPEX Corporation
Free Sample Submissions
175 Sheffield Dr.
Delmont, PA 15626

3. The images and report of your scanned sample will published on ASPEX result page.

Note: It takes about two weeks for the results to be post to the ASPEX website.  The submitters will be notified via email when the result is posted.  The samples scanned for free will not be returned.

If you wish to own a SEM to do your own SEM scan, ASPEX produces affordable desktop SEM.