Objective: Demonstrate and investigate how a Michelson interferometer works
In a Michelson interferometer a coherent light beam is separated into two rays travelling in different directions by inserting a half-silvered mirror in the path. The separated beams are reflected back along themselves and then recombined. The viewing screen then exhibits an interference pattern that changes perceptibly when the optical path lengths for each of the split beams are changed by fractions of the wavelength of light.
In a Michelson interferometer a coherent light beam is separated into two rays travelling in different directions by inserting a half-silvered mirror in the path. The separated beams are reflected back along themselves and then recombined. The viewing screen then exhibits an interference pattern that changes perceptibly when the optical path lengths for each of the split beams are changed by fractions of the wavelength of light.
