physics

Michael A. O'Keefe

Michael A. O'Keefe is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael A. O'Keefe rather than just read about it. In short: Michael A. O'Keefe (born 8 September 1942, in East Melbourne, Australia) is a physicist who has worked in materials science and electron microscopy.

Key takeaways

Michael A. O'Keefe belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael A. O'Keefe to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael A. O'Keefe from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael A. O'Keefe (born 8 September 1942, in East Melbourne, Australia) is a physicist who has worked in materials science and electron microscopy. He is perhaps best known for his production of the seminal computer code for modeling of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images; his software was later made available as part of the DeepView package for remote electron microscopy and control. O'Keefe's tutorial on theory and application of high-resolution electron microscope image simulation is available online. O'Keefe has established methods of quantifying resolution quality, and methods of deriving accurate atom positions from high-resolution images. He used these methods to help establish high-resolution electron microscopy as a precise science; in addition to its more-pedestrian role of pictorial confirmation of nano measurements, he demonstrated HRTEM's value in measurement of nano-properties. The video and associated slides illustrate the role of his work in providing tools for nano-characterization. O'Keefe designed and developed the one-Ångström microscope (OÅM) for the National Center for Electron Microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory based on an FEI Company CM300 microscope that he modified extensively to improve coherence and correct three-fold astigmatism. He was successful in breaking the "one-Ångström barrier" to resolution using his combination of hardware and software correction of microscope aberrations. He produced the first HRTEM images to show carbon atoms separated by less than one Ångström in diamond (0.89 Å) and silicon atoms in crystalline silicon (0.78 Å)—an example of his silicon work appears on a webpage at the Department of Energy. His OÅM was the first HRTEM able to image the smallest metal atoms (lithium) in lithium battery materials. Building on his work designing and operating his one-Ångström microscope (OÅM), O'Keefe produced the design for the LBNL TEAM (transmission electron aspheric microscope) able to resolve atoms in the deep sub-Ångström resolution region (less than 0.5 Å) using a hardware electron-wave phase-corrector (Cs corrector) in combination with a coherence-enhancing electron-beam monochromator. O'Keefe was elected president of the Microscopy Society of America in 2007.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael A. O'Keefe

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael A. O'Keefe claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael A. O'Keefe before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael A. O'Keefe ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael A. O'Keefe

In research: Michael A. O'Keefe appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael A. O'Keefe in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael A. O'Keefe is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1942 births, Australian physicists, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael A. O'Keefe outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael A. O'Keefe in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael A. O'Keefe means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael A. O'Keefe out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael A. O'Keefe in simple terms?

Michael A. O'Keefe (born 8 September 1942, in East Melbourne, Australia) is a physicist who has worked in materials science and electron microscopy.

Why does Michael A. O'Keefe matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael A. O'Keefe?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael A. O'Keefe.