Did you know that it’s possible to build a working compound microscope with nothing but LEGO elements? Collecting votes now on Lego Ideas is a fully functional microscope — constructed entirely out of Lego bricks. Artist Carl Merriam, who is known for his intricate Lego renderings of mythical creature Cthulhu and other custom creations, submitted the microscope concept to Lego Ideas, an effort by the Lego Group to crowdsource, build out and distribute new designs. The finished product is a truly amazing piece of brickwork. Clean lines, simple construction and wonderful little details. Check the LEGO ideas page for nice pictures of the details.
The mechanical construction of the basic structure is easy, but the challenge is getting the optics to work. The key is the magnifying glass. This design uses LEGO magnifying glasses to actually magnify objects (single lens for a magnification effect in the eye piece) and Power Functions LEDs to provide light source.
Science is FUN! Building a piece of DIY science equipment can be so beneficial to learning. LEGOScope: a DIY microscope made out of LEGO article shows with a video how to build another LEGO microphone design based on legos, lenses and a few custom-made pieces.
1 Comment
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lego VR Goggles: Lego Optics Lab DIY Stereoscope
https://hackaday.io/project/10467-lego-vr-goggles-lego-optics-lab-diy-stereoscope
Virtual Reality (VR) Goggles: Built my own cell phone stereograph viewer with parts from my Lego optics lab.
1 Green baseplate 48 X 48 studs
1 Lego optics lab cell phone/iPod mount
2 Lego optics lab small lens holders
2 Magnifying lenses (I used two convex lenses from the computer projector I took apart)
It turns out that it is so easy to build a stereograph viewer that I really didn’t need the lens holders and could use a pair of dollar store reading glasses. The cardboard divider is optional if you have trouble relaxing your eyes like you would to view those 3D “Magic Eye” images.