the pattern of light interference produced by the contact of the convex surface of a lens with a plane glass plate, appearing as a series of concentric, alternately bright and dark rings, which are colored if the light source is white.
Origin: 1825–35; after I. Newton, who discovered them
Main Entry: Newton's rings Function: noun plural : colored rings due to light interference that are seen about the contact of a convex lens with a plane surface or of twolenses differing in curvature
