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Water droplet lens microscope and microphotographs

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2001 Phys. Educ. 36 97

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 SPECIAL FEATURE: PRACTICAL PHYSICS
www.iop.org/Journals/pe

Water droplet lens microscope

and microphotographs
H H Myint1 , A M Marpaung2 , H Kurniawan2 , H Hattori3 and
K Kagawa3
1
No 2 Basic Education High School, Dagon Township, Yangon, Myanmar
2
Applied Spectroscopy Laboratory, Graduate Program in Opto Electrotechniques and Laser
Applications, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Indonesia, 4 Salemba Raya,
Jakarta 10430, Indonesia
3
Department of Physics, Faculty of Education and Regional Studies, The University of
Fukui, Fukui 910, Japan
E-mail: kagawa@edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp

Abstract
A simple homemade microscope has been devised using a single water
droplet lens, which proved to be practical for classroom use in school.
In order to prevent evaporation of water, the water droplet lens was
encapsulated in a plastic vessel together with wetted paper. By changing the
amount of water in a metal ring (4.5 mm diameter with thickness 0.6 mm)
attached to the bottom of the plastic vessel, the magnification could be
varied from around ×6 to ×30. It was also demonstrated that
microphotographs could be taken readily using an ordinary compact camera.
This microscope is expected to make a significant contribution to science
education in developing countries.

In a series of studies on physics education, effect of a water droplet placed on a glass

we have emphasized the necessity of providing
students with instructive attractive experimental
demonstrations [1–3]. However, experiments
using expensive and relatively complicated
commercial equipment do not always stimulate
students’ curiosity. In contrast, an experiment
employing familiar materials and simple tools may
often turn out to be more inspiring and hence
bring about an unexpectedly high educational
effect. Additionally, such a development should
be particularly suited to physics education in
developing countries. In fact, it is well known
that inadequate instruments deny school students
in many developing countries the opportunities to
conduct even simple experiments.
One of the simplest physical phenomena
observed in our surroundings is the magnifying
plate. But it is usually used only for a simple
demonstration in a guide book for children’s
experiments [4]. In this article we introduce
a method for making a water droplet lens
microscope. It has reasonably good quality, is easy
to manipulate and can serve as a practical tool in
science classes.
The magnification due to a water droplet
lens arises from the same principle as that of a
magnifying glass, which is described by the well
known formula
M = D/f (1)
where M is the magnification factor, D is the
distance of distinct vision (25 cm) and f is the
focal length of the water droplet lens. The water

0031-9120/01/020097+05$30.00 © 2001 IOP Publishing Ltd PHYSICS EDUCATION 97

H H Myint et al
Figure 1. Cross-sectional view of the water droplet
lens contained in a plastic vessel.
droplet lens is a plano-convex lens. The focal
length is determined by [5]
1 n−1
= (2)
f r1
where n is the refractive index of water and r1
is the radius of the spherical surface, which is
determined by the surface tension of the water.
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the
water droplet lens. The most serious problem
faced by the water droplet lens is the evaporation
of water from the droplet. In order to prevent
this, the water droplet must be enclosed in a small
transparent plastic vessel, such as that usually used
for storing a tissue culture dish in the biology
laboratory. Additionally a brass ring (inner
diameter 4.5 mm, thickness 0.6 mm), together
with a screw, was attached to the bottom of the
plastic vessel by adhesive. A suitable number
of small water droplets were inserted from the
needle of a syringe into the hole of the ring. A
tiny wetted piece of rolled tissue paper was also
kept in the plastic vessel so as to keep the water
vapour pressure constant. On the underside of the
plastic vessel another brass ring (inner diameter
2 mm) was attached by adhesive. This ring works
as an aperture to improve the imaging quality of
the water droplet lens. The surface of the plastic
vessel was completely wrapped in black paper
so that only light coming from the water droplet
lens through the ring could reach the eye of the
observer.
It was demonstrated that this water droplet
lens can be used for at least two hours without
changing the focal length. This is long enough
for the student to complete their experimental
activities in class or outdoors. By intentionally
changing the amount of the water in the ring, the
magnification factor can be readily varied from
98 PHYSICS EDUCATION
about ×6 to about ×30, as a result of variation of
the focal length of the water droplet lens. This is
easily achieved by touching a tip of tissue paper to
the water lens and thereby removing some water.
It was confirmed that a water droplet lens with a
magnification factor as high as ×50 can be made
by using a metal ring with a smaller diameter of
2 mm.
Figure 2 shows a side view of the microscope.
The plastic vessel containing the water droplet
lens is placed on the slide glass. One end of
this glass is fixed to the top of acrylic plate A,
which stands vertically. The sample is placed on
a transparent glass plate (5 mm thickness), which
is placed on another slide glass whose end is fixed
to the top of a second acrylic plate, B. The eye
used to observe the image of the object is placed
close to the water droplet lens. The acrylic plate
B can be pulled smoothly across the surface of
acrylic plate A by rubber bands so as to adjust the
distance between the water droplet lens and the
object to be observed. The slide glass attached to
one side of acrylic plate A also supports the sliding
of acrylic plate B; the glass plate and acrylic plate
A cross at right angles, and plate B slides along the
corner of the right angle. When a good imaging
position is found by moving plate B, the rubber
band is adjusted to fix the position. This method
of distance adjustment is very simple and much
cheaper than the use of a commercial rack-and-
pinion.
We have demonstrated that microphotographs
can be taken easily using an ordinary compact
camera. In this experiment the compact camera
we used was an Olympus OZ-110 zoom. The
procedure should be carried out in the following
order. After a clear image of the object is
formed through the water droplet lens microscope,
the focus must be readjusted by means of the
image formed through a small telescope which has
been previously adjusted for an object at infinite
distance. The lens of the compact camera, whose
focusing distance is set at infinity, is then placed
right above the plastic vessel. If the person using
the microscope is about 50 years old, the process
of readjustment by means of a telescope may be
omitted because of the longer focal length of his
eye lens. In fact, when one of the authors who is
55 years old made the distance adjustment between
the object and the water droplet lens by naked eye,
the photograph was taken successfully without
making this readjustment.

Figure 2. Side view of the water droplet lens microscope.
An ordinary compact camera cannot be set
completely manually. That is, the camera
automatically determines the shutter speed and
aperture according to the light intensity received
by a sensor buried in the body of the camera.
When a microphotograph is taken, the apparatus
and sample are totally illuminated by an ordinary
fluorescent lamp from an angle as shown in
figure 2. The camera’s sensor detects the
light intensity. However, the monitored light
intensity is too strong compared with that of the
light going through the microscope because of
unavoidable losses along its path. In order to
compensate for the difference in light intensities,
the window of the camera sensor was partially
covered with one or two sheets of thin white
paper in order to reduce the monitored light
intensity. After a few trials, one is likely find
the required compensation, yielding a picture with
good contrast. Another method to control the
Water droplet lens microscope and microphotographs
shutter speed and aperture is to use flash-mode to
illuminate the sample. For this purpose, the light
from the flash lamp propagating forwards must be
deliberately scattered to illuminate the sample by
putting some white paper around the camera.
When the camera is a completely automatic
type and doesn’t have the function for setting
infinite distance it determines the focusing
distance automatically by sending a signal from
the camera. So we can seal the window from which
the light signal is emitted so that the camera sensor
is tricked into thinking that the object is a long
way from the camera because there is no return
signal. Therefore, this kind of microphotograph
can be taken with even a fully automatic compact
camera.
Note that care must be exercised when taking
a photograph because this water droplet lens is
very sensitive to vibration. Even a slight vibration
transferred to the water droplet will result in
PHYSICS EDUCATION 99
H H Myint et al

Figure 3. Microphotographs taken by a compact camera using the water droplet lens microscope: (a) pistil and
stamen of a Hydrangea flower; (b) inside of a bud of a Tradescantia reflexa flower; (c) corona of a Spiranthes
sinensis flower; (d) ligulate petal and corona hair of Taraxacum officinale; (e) a fly; (f) NaCl crystal powder.
The distance between the object and the lens is 21.5 mm for (a)–(e) and 15 mm for (f).

degradation of the microphotograph. Therefore
microphotographs should be taken on the ground
or on a steel bench, not on an ordinary wooden
table.
Figure 3 shows several microphotographs
taken by this method. To make the photos
more attractive, a blue colour was used as the
background. For this purpose, as shown in
figure 2, we put blue paper under the transparent
glass plate on which the sample was placed.
The blue paper provides a blue colour as the
background in the microscope view to enhance the
beauty of the image of the object. The thickness of
the glass plate is sufficient to avoid simultaneous
focusing when the focus is adjusted for the object,
and therefore the roughness of the surface of the
paper is never seen in the microphotograph.
This microscope has proved to be very

100 PHYSICS EDUCATION


attractive to students from elementary and high
school, and indeed even to university students. It
is recommended that students be encouraged to
construct the microscope by themselves. The cost
is very low, less than US $3 per unit. It should also
be stressed that, since this equipment including the
camera is quite compact, it can be used outdoors to
take microphotographs of many objects of interest
to students, such as flowers and insects.
Received 24 July 2000, in final form 10 October 2000
PII: S0031-9120(01)15752-7
References
[1] Kagawa K, Yamanaka H, Yokoi S and Hattori H
1997 Demonstration of a dancing interference
fringe Phys. Educ. 32 414–7
[2] Kagawa S, Kakehi M, Ito F and Kagawa K 1999
Observation of snow crystals using a chamber
cooled by dry ice Phys. Educ. 34 43–5
Water droplet lens microscope and microphotographs
[3] Kagawa S, Ito F and Kagawa K 1999 Production
of artificial snow crystals Phys. Educ. 34 92–5
[4] Stang J 1987 The Tools of Science (New York:
Dodd, Mead)
[5] Jenkins F A and White H E 1965 Fundamentals of
Optics (New York: McGraw-Hill)
Htay, Htay Myint is a junior teacher in No 2 Basic Education
High School, Dagon Township, Yangon, Myanmar. From
April 2000 to March 2001 she studied physics education in
Fukui University, Japan. Alion Mangasi Marpaung
completed his undergraduate education in 1986 at the Gajah
Mada University, and is now a junior teacher of Education
and Teacher Training. He got his PhD in 2000. Hendrik
Kurniawan is the head of the applied spectroscopy
laboratory, graduate study program in
Opto-Electrotechniques and Laser
Application, at the University of
Indonesia. Hiroyuki Hattori and
Kiichiro Kagawa (pictured) are
Professors of the Faculty of Education,
Fukui University, Japan, currently
working on applied optics (HH), laser
plasma spectroscopy (KK) and physics
education.
PHYSICS EDUCATION 101