Filipino scientists have discovered a simple, affordable way to make dynamically adjustable water-based lenses that have a wide variety of potential future applications—from classrooms and research labs to cameras and even wearable gadgets. Their research is published in the journal Results in Optics.

By coating an ordinary glass slide with specially prepared polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, the researchers were able to create a hydrophobic surface that could hold a water droplet in a dome shape similar to a magnifying glass. And by adding or removing water from the droplet, they were able to change and control the magnifying power of this liquid lens with minimal loss or distortion.

In a process called “electrospinning,” the researchers melted the PVC in an electric field, which stretches out and deposits the plastic onto the glass slide as very fine microfibers. This makes the surface of the slide more water repellent, and the result is that water droplets stay in a spherical dome shape instead of flattening out.