system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How do Parallel SEM Avoid Interference Between Parallel Electron Beams?

Today I learned that companies like Zeiss have electron microscopes that have parallel electron beams, to increase scanning rate.

However, given that electrons are negatively charged, how/why do the parallel electrons path's not become distorted? Do computers do the math to correct for distortion caused by electrostatic repulsion?
gpt
You could look up beam currents, typical separation of the beams and calculate the effect size based on that, but there is a much simpler approach: Compare it to the effect of the beam on itself. The electrons in a beam repel each other. They are *much* closer together so their repulsion is much stronger. That is something to keep in mind with larger beam currents, but it doesn't stop electron microscopes from working. Beams separated by far larger than the beam width will have a much smaller influence.