How to Make a Laser Microscope Using Just a Drop of Water

The contraption can magnify up to a thousand times.
Derya Ozdemir

In his latest video, the YouTube channel The Action Lab, which delivers new and impressive science experiments regularly, shows us a microscope that can magnify up to a thousand times just by using a laser. Without a doubt, this one is one of the coolest experiments you can do at home.

This is how it goes: He uses a dropper to suspend a drop of water. Then, he sets his laser about two feet back from the drop and shines the laser directly at it. Even with the lights on, the resulting haze of light is pretty impressive, but things get even more interesting when he turns off the light. The cool visuals aside, he also goes into the science behind the phenomenon and explains the whys and hows, which makes the video even more enjoyable.