NEWTON’S RING EXPERIMENT

1. What will happen, if the glass plate is replaced with a plane mirror?
Then we will not get interference fringe because the intensity of light reflected from
the mirror will be so great that it won’t be visible and we will get uniform
illumination.

2. What will happen if we replace the lens with plane glass?

Then interference will take place but the shape of the rings will be irregular.

3. What will happen, if sodium light is replaced with white light?

Colored fringes will be observed

4. How are Newton’s rings formed?

When a plano-convex surface is placed on a glass plate, an air film of gradually
increasing thickness is formed between the two and monochromatic light is allowed
to fall normally on film and viewed in reflected light, alternate dark and bright rings
are observed. These are known as Newton’s rings.

5. What are Newton’s rings?

Alternate dark and bright rings formed due to the presence of air film when the
plano-convex lens is placed on a glass plate are called newtons rings.

6. What would be your observation in transmitted light?

Where we have a bright fringe in the reflected light, we shall have a dark fringe in
the transmitted light and vice-versa. These two systems of fringes are
complementary.
In this case, the color of the rings is complimentary of the reflected light.

7. Why are the rings circular?

These rings are loci of the constant thickness of the air film and these loci being
concentric circle hence fringes are circular. OR Since locus of constant thickness of
air film about point of contact is a circle so fringes are circular.
This is so because the air film formed is wedge-shaped and loci of points of equal
thickness are circles concentric with the point of contact.

8. What is the function of the 45° inclined glass plate?

It turns the light rays coming from an extended source to ninety degrees and so the
rays fall normally on the plano-convex lens.
9. What is meant by the interference of light?
The redistribution of light by superposition of light waves is called as interference.
When the two or more waves superimpose over each other, resultant intensity is
modified. The modification in the distribution of intensity in the region of
superposition is called interference.

10.What are interference fringes?

The alternate bright and dark patches observed in the region of superposition of two
light waves.

11. Conditions for the interference of light?

 Sources should be coherent
 The two sources must emit waves of the same wavelength and time period
 Sources should be monochromatic
 Separation between the sources should be very small
 Amplitude of interfering waves should be equal or nearly equal

12.Why do we use an extended source of light?

Necessary so as to view the entire air-film.

13.What may be the reasons if the rings are not properly circular?
 Glass plate may not be perfectly flat
 Surface of the lens may not be a part of a perfect sphere
 Lens or glass plate may not be properly clean

14.What are the factors that govern the radius of Newton’s ring?
 Wavelength of light used
 Refractive index of the enclosed film
 Radius of curvature of the lens

15.Why is the central ring dark?

The center of the ring in Newton’s Rings experiment with reflected light is dark
because at the point of contact the path difference is zero but one of the interfering
rays is reflected so the effective path difference becomes λ/2 thus the condition of
minimum intensity is created hence the center of ring pattern is dark.

16.What happens if a transparent liquid is introduced between the lens

and the glass plate?
The diameter of the rings will decrease because the diameter of the rings is inversely
proportional to the refractive index.
17.How will the rings change with the radius of curvature of the plano-
convex lens?
As R decreases the diameter of the ring also decreases

18.Applications of Newton’s ring experiment?

 The wavelength of a given monochromatic source of light can be determined
 Determine R of a lens
 Refractive index of a liquid can be calculated

19. What is the radius of Newton’s ring?

( 2 n+1 ) λR
 Bright ring- r =

 Dark ring- x=√ nλR

√ 2

20.Why do the rings get closer as their order decreases?

The diameter of dark rings is proportional to the square root of natural numbers
while bright rings are proportional to the square root of odd natural numbers hence
they don’t increase at the same rate.

21.What is the formula to calculate the wavelength?

D 2n+m −D 2n
λ=
4 mR

22.How can we determine the radius of curvature R of the plano-convex

lens?
Spherometer

23.What will happen if we use a lens of a small radius of curvature?

Then the rings will be of smaller diameter and there is the chance of error while
taking the readings.

24.What will appear, if, in place of a lens, a plane glass making some angle
with the glass stripe is used?
Alternate dark and bright fringes in the shape of a straight line