By controlling a boundary between oil and water, researchers have created a liquid lens that can quickly alter its shape in response to electric signals.
Able to adjust its focusing distance from 5 centimeters to infinity in less than 10 milliseconds, the miniature lens may provide variable focusing for digital and cellphone cameras, medical endoscopes, and other products, claim Stein Kuiper and his colleagues at Philips Research of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.