SETUP AND APPLICATIONS
Picture from http://monet.physik.unibas.ch/~lang/vpmich.htm
Picture of a Michelson Interferometer from http://anthrax.physics.indiana.edu/~dzierba/P360n/KPAD/Exps/michelson/interf.html
Setting It Up
To set up the Michelson Inteferometer, you must have the following supplies:
two mirrors to reflect the split light, a semi-transparent mirror (half silver) which is the beamsplitter, a light source, and the detector which is where the image will be projected.
Picture or the setup of the Michelson Interferometer from http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/MichelsonInterferometer.html
Since the Michelson interferometer was invented, it has become an indispensable tool in scientific applications.
It has been used in the field of high resolution spectroscopy and atomic length standards. Displacement can be measured as small as a fraction of the wavelength of visible light.
It has been refined to employ light sensitive devices for taking data and use computational methods for analysis. These advances have rendered Fourier spectroscopy
An imaging Michelson inteferometer uses a telescope focal plane imaged onto a detector array to record a spectrum for every object.
Far Infrared Absolute Spectometer (FIRAS) on the COBE satellite was used to make the most precise measurement of the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background.
Picture of one of the first interferometers used to measure star diameter from http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/sci/aam.htm
The Sydney University Stellar Interferometry measures the diameters of several stars and their temperatures. They have used the Narrabri Stellar Intesity Interferometer to do this.
This picture is from http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/astron/susi/susi_history.html
Since the invention of the interferometer, there have been many applications.
Picture of light collectors on website http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/astron/susi/susi_history.html
SETUP
APPLICATIONS