Gallery: Turn Your Cellphone Into a High-Powered Scientific Microscope
01iphone-microscope-iris-sizing
Cellphone Microscope - Step 1 ----------------------------- Grab any cellphone with a camera, but note models that use touchscreen focusing and/or have manual focus options are best. Find some thin, dark, rubbery material and poke a small hole in it (less than 1 millimeter in diameter). This can be done using a pin or needle. *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
02iphone-microscope-ball-lens
Cellphone Microscope - Step 2 ----------------------------- Order a 1-millimeter-diameter ball or half-ball lens. One [from Edmund Optics](http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=2041) costs between $15 and $25. Note that lenses with larger diameters can be used, but they will provide a smaller magnification. *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
03iphone-microscope-iris-lens
Cellphone Microscope - Step 3 ----------------------------- Carefully mount it to the iris, covering as little of the lens as possible. *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
04iphone-microscope-iris-attached
Cellphone Microscope - Step 4 ----------------------------- Center the iris with the ball lens tucked in the middle over the camera of the cellphone (above). From black electrical tape, cut out a hole larger than the diameter of the ball lens, but smaller than the diameter of the iris (below).  *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
05iphone-microscope-completed
Cellphone Microscope - Step 5 ----------------------------- Attach the iris to the camera body using the electrical tape mask. You may need to adjust the position of the iris to ensure the microscope images are centered in the camera's field of view. As with a standard microscope, use plenty of light to illuminate your sample. Liquid samples should be placed between a glass slide and coverslip. *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
06iphone-spectrometer-grating-attached
Cellphone Spectrometer - Step 1 ------------------------------- As with the microscope, cellphone models that have manual focus options are best for image control. Obtain a linear diffraction grating of 1000 lines per millimeter (lp/mm or lpmm), such as [one from Science Stuff](http://www.sciencestuff.com/prod/P-c/0529-L) that costs 69 cents. Cut the grating into a 4-millimeter-by-4-millimeter square, such that the grooves are oriented parallel to the longest dimension of the cellphone. If you're not sure about the direction of the grating's grooves, hold a laser pointer up to the sheet and look at the diffraction pattern. The pattern will be perpendicular to the grooves of the grating. *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
07iphone-spectrometer-grating-slit
Cellphone Spectrometer - Step 2 ------------------------------- Create a slit in front of the grating less than 1 millimeter wide using two pieces of black electrical tape or black foil. The slit should be parallel to the orientation of the grating grooves. A snug-fitting cellphone case can be placed around the camera to protect the grating and slit (optional). *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
08iphone-spectrometer-tube-supplies
Cellphone Spectrometer - Step 3 ------------------------------- Cut a 3-inch-long piece of 1-inch-wide PVC piping. The end that attaches to the cellphone needs to be cut at a 40-degree angle (above), which will help line up waves of light coming into the spectrometer. The inside of the tube should be matte black to prevent reflections. Black foil or black fabric work well, and can be attached using double-sided tape along one side (above). Wrap the foil or fabric around a pencil and insert it into the tube so that the tape will affix to the inside of the pipe (below). Rotating the pencil inside of the tube will expand the foil.  *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
09iphone-spectrometer-tube
Cellphone Spectrometer - Step 4 ------------------------------- Using black tape, create a slit at the straight-cut end of the tube that it is less than 1-millimeter-wide and parallel to the slit on the phone (below).  *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
10iphone-spectrometer
Cellphone Spectrometer - Step 5 ------------------------------- Center the tube over the camera lens, with the 40-degree-cut end facing the camera, and attached it to the phone body with tape (above). Attaching the tube to a dedicated cellphone cover will make it easier to remove the spectrometer for later use. If built correctly, the spectrometer will produce results like the top-half of the image below.  *Image: Zach Smith/Kaiqin Chu/Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu. Instructions adapted from text by Zach Smith and Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu.*
