Properties of a Liquid-Drop Variable Lens Feature Summary

Type:
Physics in Your World
Title:
Properties of a Liquid-Drop Variable Lens
Description:
Notice that both the ant and the small image of the flower are in focus in this photograph (high-res version)--therefore, both must be at approximately the same distance from the camera lens. Since a drop of water has a small radius of curvature, its focal length is short, only about half a centimeter, so the image is close to the drop and is much smaller than the flower itself.

-- For related activities and information, see Properties of a Liquid-Drop Variable Lens.
-- Build your own water drop lens at Kitchen Science Experiments: Drop Magnifier.

(This feature was updated on July 15, 2013.)
Image:
Photo credit: Gisle Noel; photo courtesy of <a href="http://philip.greenspun.com/">Philip Greenspun</a>; <a href= "http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1141753&size=lg" target="_blank"> image source</a>
Photo credit: Gisle Noel; photo courtesy of Philip Greenspun; image source
Image URL:
https://www.compadre.org/Informal/images/features/dropimageDaisy7-12-07large1.jpg
Featured:
July 16, 2007 - August 1, 2007