Re: [NTLK] 2100 bubbles

From: Jim Witte (jswitte_at_bloomington.in.us)
Date: Mon May 31 2004 - 15:58:52 PDT


> Interestingly the problem with the bubble did not appear when the Newt
> first arrived, but today when I took it to school (my university some
> 20 miles away) and it dissappeared upon my return home. Perhaps this
> could be related to temp/pressure change.

   Was it under fluorescent light at the university? If so, colored
rings can be seen that are called "Newton's Rings" (appropriately
enough), named for Sir Isaac Newton of physics fame who first
noticed/investigated/explained them. It's the same thing that you can
see in an oil film when sunlight reflects off it sometimes - the colors
are caused by the variable refraction of light from the top and bottom
surfaces of the film.

   In the case of the Newton, the film is the touch screen itself (I
think). They are more pronounced in florescent light (I don't see them
at *all* in sunlight) because florescent light has a pronounced
spectral component somewhere around green I think (of course we don't
see that because our eyes do automatic white-balancing ;-). I don't
know exactly *why* that frequency causes them to show up more.

   Calvin Grier's touchscreen replacement may not have this problem -
I'm not sure.

Jim Witte
jswitte_at_bloomington.in.us
Indiana University CS

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