Most systems will form rings in the absence of the gelling system if the experiment is carried out in a capillary, where convection does not disturb their formation. In fact, the system does not have to even be liquid. A tube plugged with cotton with a little ammonium hydroxide at one end, and a solution of hydrochloric acid at the other will show rings of deposited ammonium chloride where the two gases meet, if the conditions are chosen correctly. Ring formation has also been observed in solid glasses containing a reducible species. For example, bands of silver have been generated by immersing silicate glass in molten AgNO 3 for extended periods of time (Pask and Parmelee, 1943).