User-Adjustable Glasses

DrLudicrous writes "An Oxford University professor has come up with a way to manufacture adjustable glasses. The lens is made up of silicone oil, which when added or removed changes the curvature, and thus the strength of the lens. Apparently, these are inexpensive enough to distribute to the poor people's of rural Ghana, who do not have the opportunity to see a doctor, let alone afford conventional glasses."

Comments

cool

[redshift-systems]

I'd like to get a pair of those, that way you can share them between family members, or swap between drivers on long trips. What ever happened to the prescription windscreen anyeway?

Eye problems

[Bob MacSlack]

I'm just going to admit I don't know what im talking about, but isn't it possible to cause actual harm to your vision by wearing glasses that are too strong a perscription? That and headaches and other things that you could potentially cause to yourself.

Re:Eye problems

[Simon Field]

Just what mechanism are you proposing for this damage?

If what you say were true, then bifocal lenses would also damage your eyesight. Or simply taking off your glasses would damage your eyesight.

Don't be silly. There is no harm in the drugstore reading glasses, any more than there is in using a magnifying glass to read. All they do is make the image you see appear as if the object were closer to you. If that can damage your eyesight, then don't ever look at things too closely.

As for shatter-proof reading glasses, while they might be a good idea, I generally don't engage in the kind of activity that would shatter my glasses while I am reading.

I love this idea!

[Simon Field]

First, I love the idea of giving glasses to people who can't afford them. Often the reason they can't afford them is that without good eyesight they can't make a better living.

I also love the idea of adjustable eyesight. This is what the eye is designed to do naturally. The lens in your eye is adjustable until you reach my age. Just not adjustable enough.

I love the idea of letting people fix problems themselves without expensive professionals. The idiot in the article who complained that the people need to see an optometrist in case there is something worse wrong with the guy is being atrociously patronizing. When I cut my finger I don't go to a doctor in case I might also have cancer.

Being in charge of the adjustment means that if I get it wrong, I can fix it right away. How many of us have had to go back to the optometrist to get new glasses because they got the prescription wrong the first time? Or how many of us just put up with bad correction and only discovered the problem when the next pair of glasses fixed it?

But I also love the idea because of the other things we can do with these glasses once they become widely available. Get two pair, and have adjustable binoculars (just separate the two by a few inches). Or have cheap adjustable focus for small telescopes or microscopes. Or lightweight autofocus cameras.

Suppose the adjustment was really fast and easy. Now your regular glasses can be reading glasses with a touch to your temple.

I love this idea.