Discovery and innovation never stop for these young Filipino scientists, as they found a way to create dynamically adjustable water-based lenses that could greatly benefit the future of technology in the classrooms and laboratories.
Researchers Marco Budlayan and Dr. Raphael Guerrero from Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Physics, along with colleagues from Caraga State University, Pangasinan State University, and the University of the Philippines – Diliman, found that applying an expressly developed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic could produce a hydrophobic surface.
This platform could retain a water droplet in what would appear to be a bubble, similar to how we view through a magnifying glass. The researchers found that they can control their magnifying capabilities by adding or subtracting the number of water droplets and lessening distortion.
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Furthermore, the team used electrospinning to melt the PVC in an electric field, allowing it to expand and drop the plastic material onto the glass slide as fine microfibers. This allowed the surface of the slide to achieve a more water-repellent feature, making the water droplets stay in that bubble shape.
While adjusting the number of droplets, the researchers also shone a laser beam through it and observed that the beam widened or narrowed according to the droplet’s size. Larger droplets yielded longer focal lengths; on the other hand, smaller droplets acted like close-up lenses. The laser was also reported to remain clear and undistorted.
These findings now open possibilities for more advanced liquid lens experiments and applications, such as in cameras, microscopes, and even wearable devices. Its low-cost nature allows the future of this study to assist in the medical field or become part of our daily lives, such as lighting.
What do you think of this discovery, and what are the other possibilities you can see this will lead to in the future? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: ADMU