Newton's rings

It is a sign of how successful Newton was in rewriting history that this phenomenon became known as ‘Newton’s rings’.

Did Newton get Newton’s rings wrong?

Newton's rings were explained with equal facility.

Young showed that these colours could be accounted for by interference between the light that had passed through the air and that which had passed through the water, and explained the fact that, to obtain the same colour, the distance between the plates must be much greater than in the case of Newton's rings.

If the width of the hairs be very variable, the rings formed will be of different sizes and overlapping one another, no distinct series will be visible; but when the hairs are of nearly the same diameter, a series of well-defined circles of colour, resembling Newton's rings, will be seen, and if the diameter of a particular ring be measured, the breadth of the hairs can be inferred.