How cool is science?!? Thanks to a fellow ASME ECE (thanks, Julie!), I read this really interesting article on CNN, and thought I'd share: www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/16/liquid.glasses.self.refraction/index.html.

Joshua Silver, a University of Oxford physics professor developed self-refraction eyeglasses that can help people in developing nations correct their vision without ever seeing an optometrist.

Per the article, the secret of the self-refractive glasses is their lenses. Inside each lens is a memberane filled with oil - the wearer can then adjust the oil in the lenses to the level needed to best correct their vision using a syringe on the side. Once the lenses have been adjusted, they are sealed and the syringes removed, and voila - glasses without visiting an optometrist (and based on the statistics in the article, this is definitely a good thing - did you know that in Ghana, there is only one optometrist for every 8 million people?!?).