"electron magnifying glass"

[Joel S. Berson]

I was surprised to find this in a newspaper today.  It's not in the
OED, but does appear occasionally in Google Search and perhaps 4
times in Google Books, perhaps starting in the 1970s, perhaps
earliest in someone's translation from Japanese (S. Isogawa,
"[Recently developed scanning electron microscope (an electron
magnifying glass)]").  I did not quickly find anything that would
explain whether an "electron magnifying glass" is the same as or
different from an "electron microscope".

" 'I have read the bill and can't find the spending cuts -- even with
an electron magnifying glass,' said Representative Trey Gowdy of
South Carolina, who generally votes against budget bills."  [AKA
Harold Watson; "Trey" apparently is a nickname.]

New York Times, Jan.2, 2013, "Under pressure, House approves Senate
tax deal," by Jennifer Steinhauer.

No wonder Republicans are regressive -- they're stuck in the 1970s.

Joel

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