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Many cells are transparent anti colorless. Structures of great interest in biology and medicine can be practically invisible to ordinary microscopy. To indicate the size and shape of cell structures, an interference micro-scope reveals a difference in index of refraction as a shift in interference fringes. The idea is exemplified in the following problem. An air wedge is formed between two glass plates in contact along one edge and slightly separated at the opposite edge as in Figure P37.37. When the plates are illuminated with monochromatic light from above, the reflected light has 85 dark fringes. Calculate the number of dark fringes that appear if water (n = 1.33) replaces the air between the plates.
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