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Liquid Lens Can Magnify at the Flick of a Switch

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the zap-zoom dept.

An anonymous reader writes "German engineers have designed the first liquid camera lens with no moving parts that provides two levels of zoom. 'Liquid lenses bend light using the curved boundary between watery and oily liquids. When the two liquids are held in the right container, the boundary between them can be made to curve in a way that focuses light simply by applying a voltage. Liquid lenses have attracted much attention because they are potentially smaller than conventional optics and cheaper to build. Samsung has already built them into some cellphones.'"

9 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Lens isn't working by sconeu · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nothing to see here. Move along.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  2. Shake It by Joebert · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I shake it before snapping a photo, do I get a really cool bubble-like effect ?

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    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    1. Re:Shake It by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's what I told your wife too, but she didn't listen....

  3. Hubble by tedgyz · · Score: 3, Funny

    It sure would have made fixing the Hubble a lot easier.

    Earth to Hubble: Adjust lens voltage to 1.537mV.

    --
    "No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
    1. Re:Hubble by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      But if the Hubble used liquid lenses instead of mirrors...

      Wouldn't it be the Bubble Space telescope?

  4. Can I take camera as carry on luggage? by Palmyst · · Score: 2, Funny

    If it contains liquid?

  5. Re:This is old by nick_davison · · Score: 4, Funny

    "German engineers have designed the first... Samsung has already built them into some cellphones.'" Bell Labs aand Samsung used a time machine. It clearly says the German engineers have just done it first. The only possible explanation for Bell Labs doing it two years ago and Samsung having already built it in to cell phones is that they went forward in time in some kind of a time machine, possibly involving a flux capacitor of some sort, and brought the technology back with them to before it was first implemented.

    That, or it's a badly phrased article.

    In related news, German scientists have designed the first "circular device for the conveying of people and objects" and the first "source for the creation of heat and light by combustion of a 'fuel'." We may mock but the USPTO will still grant them a patent on the lot of it.
  6. Re:Seeing double?? by Nullav · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm afraid the goggles do nothing. I'm sorry.

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    I just read Slashdot for the articles.
  7. Re:Great for Democracy by Lorkki · · Score: 3, Funny

    Then the police can keep policing the citizens, but the citizens can also police the police.

    But if the police police police police, who will police the police police?