Demonstrations

Thin Film Interference - Newton's Rings

Code Number :	6D30.10
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Good
Principle :	Thin Film Interference
Area of Study :	Optics
Equipment :	Newton's Rings Unit, Newton's Rings (Overhead Model), Fluorescent Light (if needed), Video Camera and Power Supply.
Procedure :	The Newton's Ring unit (Brass) is the traditional way Newton's rings are produced. This unit may be passed around in class if desired. The overhead Newton's ring unit must be placed in the light path between the overhead projector and the screen. If it is placed on the overhead projector in the normal fashion no rings will be observed. An easier and better way to show Newton's rings is to use the two round plates in the same manner as before. However instead of illuminating with a sodium lamp we use a standard fluorescent light. You must be looking at the reflection of the fluorescent light in the round plates. The Newton's rings produced can be easily seen when projected with the aid of a video camera. The red filter may be added to the camera to view a fairly monochromatic pattern.

References

Benjamin S. Perkalskis and J. Reuben Freeman, "Herschel's Interference Demonstration," TPT, Vol. 38, # 3, p. 142 (March 2000).

Kai-yin Cheung and Se-yuen Mak, "Giant Newton's Rings," TPT, Vol. 34, # 1, p. 35- 37, (Jan. 1996).

G.R. Davies, "Interference and Diffraction Corridor Demonstrations," TPT, Vol. 33, # 4, p. 244- 247, (April 1995).

John Moreland, "Squeezable Junctions for Electron Tunneling and Surface Electric Field Experiment", TPT, Vol. 24, # 7, Oct. 1986, p. 405.

Jim Nelson, Adlai Waxman, and James Trefil, "Thick Film Interference", TPT, Vol. 21, # 2, Feb. 1983, p. 119.

Frank A. Anderson, "Drawing Wave Diagrams for the Interference of Light", TPT, Vol. 11, # 3, March 1973, p. 175.

Frank A. Anderson, "In Reply...", TPT, Vol. 11, # 6, Sept. 1973, p. 327.

Mario Iona, "Very Special Cases", TPT, Vol. 11, # 6, Sept. 1973, p. 326.

Syed Ziauddin, "Newton's Rings", TPT, Vol. 10, # 8, Nov. 1972, p. 477.

James Moore, "Brilliant Newton's Rings", TPT, Vol. 9, # 3, March 1971, p. 153.

Vincent Mallette, "Brilliant Newton's Rings," TPT, Vol. 9, # 3, p. 153, March 1971, reprinted in TPT, Vol. 41, # 3, p. 186, (March 2003).

Javier Hernandez-Andres, Eva M. Valero, Juan L. Nieves, and Javier Romero, "Fizeau Fringes at Home", AJP, Vol. 70, # 7, July 2002, p. 684.

A. F. Leung and Jiyeon Ester Lee. "Newton's Rings: A Classroom Demonstration with a He-Ne Laser." AJP, p. 662, Vol. 59, No. 7, (July 1991).

D. G. Sargood, "On the Use of Float Glass in Lecture Demonstration Experiments in Optics", AJP, Vol. 46 (2), Feb. 1978, p. 187.

Eugene Hecht, "Interference Fringes in a Flowing Liquid Film", AJP, Vol. 43, # 2, Feb. 1975, p. 187.

H. S. Sandhu and G. D. Friedmann, "Determination of Radii of Curvature of Spherical Surfaces using Newton's Rings", AJP, (33), 10, Oct. 1965, p. 818.

Ol-17: Freier and Anderson, A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.

O-460: "Newton's Rings Between Glass," DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

L-71: Richard Manliffe Sutton, Demonstration Experiments in Physics.

"7.3, Interference and Diffraction," Cunningham and Herr, Hands-On Physics Activities, p. 467.

C. Harvey Palmer, "Experiment B8: Demonstration of Fizeau and Haidinger Bands," Optics - Experiments and Demonstrations, John Hopkins Press, 1962

"26, Newton's Experiment on Interference", Experiments in Optics, Part 1, J. Klinger Scientific Apparatus Corp., Bulletin 101.

T. D. Rossing, C. J. Chiaverina, "# 1, Thin Film Interference With Soap Bubbles", Light Science, Physics and Visual Arts, p. 124.

T. D. Rossing, C. J. Chiaverina, "5.3, Interference In Thin Films", Light Science, Physics and Visual Arts, p. 108.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille