#interference airplane cockpit

Thin film interference on Airplane cockpit

There is a great chance that when you are at the airport waiting for your flight, you witness these rainbow patterns on cockpit windows. This is due to thin film interference, a topic which we have explored occasionally on FYPhysics!

But where is the thin film on an airplane window? Well, commercial airplane cockpit windows have conductive coating (Indium Tin Oxide- ITO) inside the glass (see image below for reference).

                                                   Image Source

Heat is produced by applying voltage across the coating, which is used to deice/defrost the windows. The thin film interference pattern that you see is due to this layered nature of the glass.

Have a good one!

* You can also see interference pattern on windows of smaller airplanes but they are not due to the conductive coating and the exact reason would depend on the aircraft type.

** For a more elaborate answer on how airplane heating systems work, check out : Link1Link2