One tiny shell.
Four different discoveries.

This is an original, idealized Coscinodiscus-type cleaned valve, not an image or measurement of one real specimen. The model is 80 µm across and each selected patch spans 5 × 5 µm. The simplified shell has a perforated outer plate, chambers and an inner plate. Its example outer openings are 200 nm across and chamber openings are about 1 µm. Natural species and preparations differ; the finest additional sieve layer is omitted. The whole-shell view omits details that are too small to display.

Every image uses the same mathematical shell and selected coordinates. LM uses a contrast-enhanced projected pattern and Gaussian optical blur, with a Rayleigh reference of 0.61λ/NA at 550 nm; it is not a full phase-contrast or diffraction calculation. SEM uses qualitative slope and edge contrast, not electron-transport simulation. AFM uses geometric contact with a finite parabolic tip; its apparent height is not an instrument-calibrated result. Pore bottoms may remain unreachable. TEM uses a qualitative silica/void projection through a model section 100 nm thick, taken along the highlighted line; diffraction, staining, chemistry and preparation damage are omitted. Section vertical structure is enlarged in the 3D instrument diagram and axes show the actual model dimensions.

These are prepared-shell comparisons, not four views of the same untouched living cell. Moving signal markers are enlarged and slowed to show the working principle. Optical profiling is outside this first comparison.

Use rotation buttons instead of dragging. Animations start only on request and pause when the page is hidden. Reduced-motion preferences disable animated preparation. If 3D cannot load, the linked image controls, text and comparison remain usable. JANA’s explanations here are preset, with no live AI connection. Only your settings and visited modes are saved in this browser, when storage is available.

• Diatom structures using light, SEM/FIB and TEM imaging
• AFM and electron microscopy of diatom shell structure
• Nikon MicroscopyU: optical resolution
• NIST: scanning-probe image simulation and tip geometry