The phenomenon of Newton's rings is an interference pattern caused by the reflection of light between two surfaces - a spherical surface and an adjacent flat surface. It appears as a series of concentric, alternating light and dark rings centred at the point of contact between the two surfaces. The light rings are caused by constructive interference between the incident and reflected light rays, while the dark rings are caused by destructive interference.

The effect was named after the physicist Isaac Newton, who was the first to analyze it.

External links

• Newton's Rings from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics

• Carnegie Mellon department of physics, photo images of Newton's rings