The Michelson interferometer is an important instrument in today’s physics laboratories and is often the first to be introduced to students for understanding beam interference, an important wave property of light. The Michelson interferometer produces interference fringes by splitting a beam of monochromatic light so that one beam strikes a fixed mirror and the other is incident on a movable mirror. When the reflected beams recombine, an interference pattern is produced. Michelson interferometer can be used for observing interference fringes and precisely measuring wavelength, distance and index of refraction.
Using this instrument, the following experiment examples can be conducted:
1.Interference fringe observation
2.Equal-inclination fringe observation
3.Equal-thickness fringe observation
4.White-light fringe observation
5.Wavelength measurement of the Sodium D-lines
6.Wavelength separation measurement of the Sodium D-lines
7.Measurement of the refractive index of air