How to Make a Magnifying Glass With Plastic Wrap

Water causes light to bend, which makes objects therefore seem closer.

If you have ever wanted to magnify something but could never afford to buy a magnifying glass, you may be in luck today. The curvature of light in water causes water to function like a magnifying class. In particular, if you were to pour a single drop of water on a plastic wrap, you would have just created your own homemade magnifying glass. You cannot transport it around in your pocket, but you can use it to explore the science of magnification.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Eye dropper with water
• Plastic wrap

Instructions

1. Place the plastic wrap on the newspaper so that it is covering an article.

2. Squeeze a single drop of water onto the plastic wrap using the eye dropper so that it covers a single letter from the article.

3. Lower your head until your eyes are close to the water drop. Look through it at the newspaper and observe what happened to the letter.

4. Squeeze a little more water from the eye dropper onto the original drop, then note how the letter's appearance has changed.

References

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Education Center; Water-Drop Magnifier Optics; July 2004
• Magic Science Project: Water Magic Experiments For Kids Of All Ages