Smartphone manufacturers continue to increase the size of their main models, but resolution is not far behind. The fact that a smartphone can present more than three million pixels on its panel is impressive. However, it's a detail that escapes the vast majority of users. How can we visualize that density? The most effective way is to place a mobile phone under a microscope and see how its pixels work in real time.
We use them every day, but do we really know how they work? One of the first things we should learn about a smartphone is its maintenance. The process varies by operating system, and Android usually needs a little extra attention. Now, if the plan is to know its hardware more deeply, there are other resources. For example, the Strange Parts channel taught us to build an iPhone in China by adding all its parts. It also revealed the modding potential by restoring the 3.5mm plug and adding wireless charging to an iPhone 7. But that sounds a bit too advanced to start with. So… something simple, that doesn't require major surgery. How about a mobile phone under a microscope?
A mobile phone under a microscope
The video lasts only 17 seconds, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. It's a compound microscope with a 100x magnification. Each pixel is made up of three elements or subpixels, which represent the three primary colors. By changing the intensity of each subpixel, the smartphone screen can reproduce millions of colors without difficulty, although the final quality and accuracy of those colors varies greatly among manufacturers.
Basically, this is similar to what we saw last January, when the Slo Mo Guys studied a television in slow motion. After exploring how a CRT works, they moved to an LED panel, where we can also see subpixels in action. I admit that a microscope is not a common household tool (unless there's a specific need), but if you have a camera and a good lens at your disposal, don't hesitate to try it out.
