Newton's Rings

Newton's rings are a series of alternating bright and dark concentric circles produced by the interference of light (see Interference). They occur when two microscope slides are pressed tightly together at one point, or when a slightly convex piece of glass is placed on top of a flat piece of glass. Light reflected off the flat surface travels slightly farther than--and interferes with--light reflected off the curved surface. If viewed in strong white light, such as sunlight, the rings show the colors of the spectrum. If the viewing light is a single color, the rings have only that color. The rings were named for the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who first studied them in detail.

Contributor: David M. Roessler, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors Research and Development Center.

Newton's Rings

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