How a liquid lens works (electrowetting)

A liquid lens works by changing the shape of a water drop by creating an electrostatic field that pulls on the water molecules. I show how water can be affected by a high voltage supply and an electrostatically charged comb.

The process by which the droplet changes shape is known as electrowetting.

Projector HID arc light mounted into a desk lamp

I combined the High Intensity Discharge bulb and power supply from an old LCD with a desk lamp to create a 270W spotlight. I bypassed the power supply's interlocks and shorted an optocoupler to cause the power supply to always turn the lamp on when AC power is applied. I used an inline power switch to control the device. The desk lamp's existing wiring is able to withstand the high starting voltage of the HID lamp (probably a few KV). Once the arc strikes, the voltage is much lower and the current much higher.