Name That Sample Under our Tabletop SEM-Week 10

jeff — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:27:30 +0000

We have reached our 10th week of Name That Sample! Thanks to everyone who has been playing along. If you haven’t won a prize yet, the good news is that we will continue running these contests every week. Don’t give up; keep on guessing. This week’s sample is a bit more conventional than last week and is commonly used (more than metal foam). We are giving away a USB Stick to the person who guesses the right answer to what’s under our Tabletop SEM. A hint will be given on Thursday if no one has guessed correctly. Best of luck and leave your guesses below.

The contest will run until September 5th and the winner will be contacted via email.
The image was reported with ASPEX’s Personal Image Print™
Learn more about ASPEX’s new hush pump which is now more efficient than traditional oil-pumps.

ASPEX’s German distributor proudly unveils their new Facility.

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:07:18 +0000

Karlsdorf-Neuthard, Germany – RJL Micro & Analytic has been a successful distributor of ASPEX’s products for more than 10 years. They recently moved to a new location to support their continued growth. A vital component of their growth is not only being a manufacturer’s representative, but by supporting their local client base with world class analytical contract services. They have built a great reputation over the past 12 years as problem solvers for a wide spectrum of industrial particle contamination applications. Please visit their website to see how the ASPEX’s product line supports their industrial customers.

http://www.rjl-microanalytic.com/html/startpage.html

We at ASPEX’s wish continued success to the RJL Micro & Analytic team!

Aerial view of RJL Micro & Analytics new facility

Courtyard complete with apple tree

ASPEX’s product line in action (left to right) PSM-75, PSEM eXpress, ASPEX 3025 & and an ASPEX PICA

ASPEX’s rollout of the ‘Shifting the Identity of SEMs’ theme to the microscopy community at Microscopy & Microanalysis 2010

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:35:24 +0000

Portland, OR – August 2nd, 2010 – ASPEX continued the rollout of our ‘Shifting the Identity of SEMs’ on Microscopy and Microanalysis trade show floor. Booth # 435 was the place to be to see our innovative products in action. We had all three SEM/EDS platforms on display the PSEM eXpress, PSEM eXtreme as well as the PSEM eXplorer. Also we had key supporting products highlighted. Our Performance Grading System – PGS along with our Hush Pump received considerable attention during the show.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and made M&M 2010 a success for ASPEX, Corp.

‘Shifting the Identity of SEMs’ header graphic

Our 30’ booth with the PSEM eXplorer, PSEM eXtreme & PSEM eXpress (right to left) on display

Close up of our Performance Grading System – PGS

Our Hush Pump installed on the PSEM eXplorer

Name That Sample Under Our Desktop Microscope-Week 9

jeff — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:24:20 +0000

Great guesses last week. Although that was a difficult sample, there were some extremely close guesses. This week’s sample is even more challenging than before. Let’s see how well you all do guessing what’s under our Desktop Microscope. The winner who guesses the right answer (or closest to it) will receive a Brand New Netbook! Leave all your guesses below. Best of luck.

UPDATE: August 29, 2010: We have a winner! The correct answer is actually metal foam. Recently metal foam has been used in animal prosthetics and consists of aluminum. We said it was going to be challenging! The closest provided was metal shavings. Congratulations Jonathan! You will be contacted about receiving your brand new netbook! Thanks for playing, everyone.

The contest will run until August 29 and the winner will be contacted via email.
The image was reported with ASPEX’s Personal Image Print™
Learn more about ASPEX’s scanning electron microscopes services.

Meteorite Under ASPEX’s Tabletop Electron Microscope

jeff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:01:50 +0000

A falling meteorite safely survives the impact of the earth’s atmosphere and lands right under our tabletop electron microscope. Meteorites are also known as falling stars because once they enter the earth’s atmosphere they heat up and form a fireball. When we look up into the sky, they look like falling stars. Thanks Bob for sending in the sample!
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Reports were prepared using ASPEX Personal Image Print II.
Secondary electron detector (SED) images were collected under High vacuum conditions and 20 KeV. The sample was gold coated to eliminate any sample charging.
Check out more information on our scanning electron microscope services.

Name That Sample Under ASPEX’s SEM Microscopes-Week 8

jeff — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:41:14 +0000

Great News: Our Name That Sample contests will now be running every week. That means more chances to win and more prizes to give away. This week we are going to be giving way a USB memory stick to the person who guesses the correct answer to what’s under our SEM Microscopes.

The scan this week is a bit more challenging than usual. Please leave your guesses below and tell your friends to Name That Sample! Best of luck.

UPDATE: August 22, 2010 We have a winner! The correct answer is Diatomaceous Earth. Congratulations Doug, you will be receiving an email about your USB memory stick.

The contest will run until August 22 and the winner will be contacted via email.
The image was reported with ASPEX’s Personal Image Print™
Learn more about ASPEX’s particle characterization electron microscope.

Name That Sample Under our Benchtop SEM-Week 7

jeff — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:31:13 +0000

We are giving another Brand New Netbook away to person who guesses the right answer to whats under our Benchtop SEM. Make sure to leave all your guesses below. The contest will end August 14. Tell your friends! Good Luck!

UPDATE: August 15, 2010: We Have A Winner! The correct answer is a rubber band. Congratulations Ram! You will notified about receiving your Brand New Netbook.

This contest will end August 14 and the winner will be contacted via email.

Scan was done with ASPEX’s SEM X Ray.
System Configuration
Product: PSEM® eXplorer
Reporting Software: Personal Image Print™
Images were Gold Coated and taken under Secondary Electron Detector (SED)

Name That Sample Under Our Scanning Electron Microscope SEM-Week 6

jeff — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:09:16 +0000

Get ready to Name That Sample! Congratulations again to Dave who won Week 5 with his guess of polymer microbeads. We are giving away another Brand New Netbook to the person who guess the right answer to whats under our Scanning Electron Microscope SEM. Remember to leave all your guesses below. This contest will end July 31. Good Luck!

Update: August 1,2010 WE HAVE A WINNER! The correct answer is actually a CD-R Disk. Congratulations David! You will be contacted about receiving your brand new Netbook.

Learn more about ASPEX’s scanning electron microscope price
Reports were made using ASPEX’s Personal Image Print (PIP™)
Sample was analyzed with ASPEX’s PSEM Explorer
Secondary electron detector (SED) images were collected under High Vacuum conditions and 20 KeV beam energy

Real World Uses for our Scanning Electron Microscopes

jeff — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:56:52 +0000

Putting all of the “Naming of Samples” and crazy specimens aside, Scanning Electron Microscopes are used for a wide array of important and sometimes life-saving situations. ASPEX was recently confronted with a situation in which a reader sent in skin which was thought to have fibers within it.

After having months of discomfort, the reader went to three dermatologists and a physician whom all sent her home with various prescriptions for creams, pills and specialty soaps. Discouraged and determined, the reader sought out ASPEX’s free scan offer to possibly reveal some answers. It turns out that after the scans were completed, there were carbonic fibers located in the deep within the skin. These fibers were mostly made up of carbon with small amounts of silicon, aluminum and sulfur. The reader was then able to take the appropriate steps in order to get doctors to diagnose this problem before it proceeded to get worse.

Keep in mind that there are situations like this that happen everyday and that SEMs can be used for more than just knowing what a used tissue looks like up close. Look for more ASPEX success stories like this on our blog in the future posts. Our SEM Elemental Analysis is below:

Name That Sample! – Week 5

jeff — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:46:33 +0000

Welcome to another installment of Name That Sample! We have seen such a great response from previous weeks that we are going to give away another Brand New Netbook. Lets see how you all do guessing whats under our Scanning Electron Microscopes.

Update: July 15,2010: WE HAVE A WINNER! This week was quite a tough challenge. The correct answer is fly ash, which is a residue from the combustion of coal. The person who came the closest to the answer was David with the guess of polymer microbeads. Congratulations David! You will be notified about your Brand New Netbook! Keep an eye out for next week’s Name That Sample!

The winner will be contacted via email.

The contest will be open for the next 2 weeks. Best of luck.

This scan was done by using our SEM EDX Analysis.

System Configuration
Product: PSEM® eXpress
Operating Parameters: VP–BSED Detector,
Accelerating Voltage 20.0 kV,
Working Distance 14.4 mm
Reporting Software: Personal Image Print™