The phenomenon of surfactant micelle ordering (i.e, stratification) in emulsion films was investigated using the reflected-light microinterferometric technique In thinning films formed from a nonionic mice! tar solution of ethoxylated alcohol (1 wt %), it was found that the small droplets (i.e, less than 5 pm) are separated by thick (>01 mu m) stable films containing surfactant micelles in multilayers that prevent droplet flocculation and coalescence The Ostwald ripening process governs emulsion stability owl a long-term The direct microscopic observations of the evolution of the drop size distribution over time of hexadecane drops (similar to 25 vol%) dispersed in an aqueous nucellar solution (approximate to 120 times critical micellar concentration) was compared with that calculated from the Ostwald ripening model