A REVOLUTIONARY VARIABLE FOCUS LENS

By symmetrically stretching the equatorial diameter (diameter perpendi cular to the optic axis) of a biconvex deformable lens, the optical po wer is increased. This counter-intuitive effect was measured in five w ater-filled balloon lenses. Optical power increases as large as 10 dio pters were observed. The behavior was found to be reversible and repea table. The effect was essentially linear for equatorial diameter incre ases of less than 2%. The dramatic increase in optical power of a defo rmable lens, as a result of small displacement stretching of its equat orial diameter, is a unique and revolutionary observation in single el ement optics.