No dear friends, your eyes are most definitely not deceiving you, this is far from an optical illusion.
What are we actually talking about? We all know the powerful effect that wearing contact lenses has on individuals. Regular contacts are worn by millions globally where they have the opportunity to see clearer.
There are daily contacts as well as monthly ones to choose from. Whatever your lens of choice may be, you may possibly spill your solution after this latest revelation.
The Technology
Many scientists are starting to realise the potential of something which is known as metamaterials. Hold the front page for one darn minute. What is a metamaterial when it is at home?
They can manipulate the light in amazing ways. As a result, they dramatically enhance the properties found inside contact lenses. Looking good so far.
Smart lenses are without doubt the way forward as new techniques are slowly introduced. The optic revolution can alter the lens structure resulting in a much flatter appearance.
A US backed initiative, the flat lenses would consist of paint whitener that would sit on top of the thin glass. The characteristics of the lens will rely on numerous factors but titanium dioxide is key.
This is because it is completely transparent and has a strong relationship with light. And their American backers are going loopy for this new lens technology.
In essence, it would measure only 2mm in width and will be even thinner than a strand of human hair. If that is not hair raising enough for you there is more!
These new lenses could even magnify objects that are not only on a grand but a nanoscale. Consequently, you might benefit from sharper focus and clearer vision. All this is largely in part down to the influence of metamaterials which can bring things closer.
The Result
Properties are able to be clearer, whilst shapes on this new lens can still be seen in tiny detail.
“In my opinion, this technology will be game-changing. The lens is quite unlike the curved disks of glass familiar from cameras and binoculars. Instead, it is made of a thin layer of transparent quartz coated in millions of tiny pillars, each just tens of nanometres across and hundreds high.” proclaimed Federico Capasso from Harvard University.
In turn, each of these small pillars can interact very easily with the light. This passes through the lens and is focused thanks to the accumulation of tiny structure on the lens surface. Metalenses as they have been dubbed avoid any pitfalls which can be found in regular glass optics.
“The quality of our images is actually better than with a state-of-the-art objective lens. I think it is no exaggeration to say that this is potentially revolutionary.” He added.
The boffins in the lab have already made a number of different contrasts versus the higher end lenses. For research purposes only, they looked at the possibility of the highest magnification.
In most cases, the focus from the metalens was three times as precise when compared to the competitors.
“Our lenses, being planar, can be fabricated in the same factories that make computer chips. So all of a sudden the factories that make integrated circuits can make our lenses.” Professor Capasso added.
The Future
It seems that it may come down to the production of these marvelous metalenses. This is absolutely paramount in order to manage their finances, but they are cheap to produce. In addition to this, the US backed firm also have their eye on mobile phone cameras.
The technology which is contained in these specific devices may open up different types of opportunities. The detector on the camera and lens could open up groundbreaking smart lenses using this method.
In fact, they are focusing on all manner of uses for this specific super lens. On top of this, they intend to pursue mass produced cameras to be utilised in factory environments.
Virtual reality is another factor on their agenda, whilst other soft materials could be produced in headsets and more.
Despite their 2mm size, these prototypes would be able to increase to any size given the chance. So you see, scalability could see these lenses appear in your next version of Medal of Honour.
From 10 inches to 110 inches, it appears that there may be no limitations to these lenses. The team behind these contacts have extensive experience as they have taken on working with silicon materials. This is ideal for infrared.
When will they be available?
At present, the team is hard at it and in the process of improving their initial prototype lenses. In spite of the fact this new wave of tech isn’t fully ready to go, contact may be altered. This is due to properties which scientists have changed via amongst others environmental factors.
Only time will tell whether the scientist can integrate the technology accordingly. Who knows, in the long term there may be ways to optimise lenses for other visual requirements.
This could be applied to heal not to mention assist a host of eye related disorders where smart lenses could play a role.
But you don’t have to wait for the time machine if you want some high quality lenses. Why not head over and check out our array of contact lenses here. We have many leading brands to choose from and even offer special toric lenses for correcting astigmatism.
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