Make-shift Camera (Super Science Experiments)

You will need:

1. Scissors
2. 2-litre empty plastic bottle
3. A4 sheet of paper
4. Lampshade or unique patterned ceiling light (most likely to find in your school)
5. A glass of water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Ask an adult to help you cut a circular piece of plastic from just below the neck of the bottle.
2. Fill water in this circular piece.
3. Place a A4 sheet of paper under the light and hold the water- filled plastic ‘lens’ about 15 cm above the paper.
4. Do not drop the water. Gently move the plastic lens up or down, adjusting it until a small reflection of the ceiling light above can be seen on the paper.

RESULT

By adding water to the curved piece of plastic we have recreated a ‘magnifying lense’. This magnifying lens reflects the light coming from the ceiling by bending the different rays of light coming from a light source. The bent light rays then converge below the curved water-filled plastic and form a reflection of the image above. By adjusting the height you are adjusting the focal length which makes the paper the ‘image sensor’ of the make-shift camera.