A gimp-like ball stretched over the lens of the iPhone's camera turns it into a powerful microscope. If you ever peered closely at a drop of water, you'll know that it can produce a tiny version of the world beyond. This ability to act as a lens can also turn a hole and a drip into a magnifying glass.
This is the principal used by researchers at UC Davis, headed by physicist Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu, to turn an iPhone into a microscope. Instead of a drop of water (which the team abandoned due to the drops drying), the team used 1mm-diameter (0.003 feet) ball lens embedded into a small sheet of rubber.
Gadget Lab, Scientists Turn iPhone Into Microscope with $30 Mod
