Do-it-yourself home digital microscope

Which of us in childhood, and some still, was not fascinated by the microcosm! Many will probably agree with me that this is very interesting. Undoubtedly, the best video and photo frames from the microworld can be obtained using a digital microscope, which expands the capabilities of a conventional microscope by several times. And now, the good news! In this electronic age, getting a digital microscope for home use has become much easier than it used to be. And you know how? Easily…

Many of us have a smartphone. Most often, smartphones are equipped with decent video cameras, which in skillful hands can be turned into digital microscopes.

Have you noticed that when photographing with a phone, in order to get a high-quality photo, the stability of the camera is important (so that there is no hand shake). You don't have to be a visionary to realize that in macro photography, where multiple zooms are needed, camera stability is all the more important. That's what you need to build a small stand!

This video demonstrates very well how to make your own stand for your future experiments.

To convert your smartphone into a digital microscope, you will need the following materials:

The magnifying lens is suitable for almost any laser pointer, it will act as a macro lens on a microscope stand. Tip: don't waste your money on an expensive pointer, even the cheapest one will do for our purposes.

To get the lens placed on the end of the pointer, carefully disassemble it: unscrew the screws from both ends of the pointer, remove the batteries and, using the eraser on the end of the pencil, push the contents out of the tube. Unscrew the small black piece of plastic at the front of the lens and the lens will come out freely.

The lens (lens), when viewed from the side, is not symmetrical. If you look closely, you will see thin translucent bands (~1mm) on one side of the lens. This side should not be next to the camera.

You can also determine the correct orientation as follows: secure the lens with a hairpin and tape it to the back of the smartphone. Proper orientation will give you a larger field of view.

When using a stand, it is important to have the lens as close to the camera as possible.

A few more tips...

• The hole in the plexiglass (the table where the smartphone will be placed) should match the size of your lens. Therefore, it is better to make it a little smaller, and then adjust the size by constantly trying on the lens, expanding it with sandpaper.

• The recess for the LED flashlight must be made according to the size of the flashlight itself.
• DON'T FORGET to download the free program "Magnifier and microscope" on GooglePlay

Well, that's probably all the nuances in the manufacture of a digital microscope. The rest of the things are well covered in the video.

The author of this design is a big supporter of the availability of scientific instruments at home. His goal in this project was to provide a smart phone alternative to the expensive digital microscope. Agree that he succeeded. Indeed, many people are interested in nature and the study of its various manifestations, but for their research they lack tools. The same simple device will help people rediscover the world around them. In general, I am silent about the benefits for the development of the child :)