Lab Report
Introduction!
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The Michelson Interferometer is commonly used to determine the wavelength of light or measure very small distances. It was invented by Albert Abraham Michelson and is commonly used in optical interferometry, a branch of physics involving a family of techniques one could use to extract information about waves by superimposing them. !
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The original application of the Michelson Interferometer was to the famous Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887. Prior to Einstein's postulation that the speed of a light wave in vacuum has the same magnitude relative to all inertial frames, physicists thought that the propagation of light waves occurred in a medium called ether which permeated all space. The Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the existence of ether, baffling physicists everywhere until Einstein's postulation. !
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Another commonly used application of the Michelson Interferometer is in imaging cells. In this application, the Michelson Interferometer is mated to a microscope and the cell is in one arm of the interferometer. When light passes through the cell, it undergoes a phase shift which depends on the cell thickness and organelles within the cell. The fringe pattern produced can be used to construct a three dimensional image of the cell. !
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A commonly used set up of the Michelson Interferometer is shown in Figure 1 below. !
Figure 1 - Set Up of Michelson Interferometer!
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When two light sources have the same wavelength and frequency, they are said to be coherent with one another. If they were to be combined at a certain point, they are said to be superimposed at that point. When superimposed, the two (or more) light waves' properties can interact and interfere with one another which can lead to two scenarios; the superimposed light waves can reinforce each other to produce a brighter image or they can diminish one another to produce a dimmer image. When they produce a brighter image, it is known
!
The Michelson Interferometer is commonly used to determine the wavelength of light or measure very small distances. It was invented by Albert Abraham Michelson and is commonly used in optical interferometry, a branch of physics involving a family of techniques one could use to extract information about waves by superimposing them. !
!
The original application of the Michelson Interferometer was to the famous Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887. Prior to Einstein's postulation that the speed of a light wave in vacuum has the same magnitude relative to all inertial frames, physicists thought that the propagation of light waves occurred in a medium called ether which permeated all space. The Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the existence of ether, baffling physicists everywhere until Einstein's postulation. !
!
Another commonly used application of the Michelson Interferometer is in imaging cells. In this application, the Michelson Interferometer is mated to a microscope and the cell is in one arm of the interferometer. When light passes through the cell, it undergoes a phase shift which depends on the cell thickness and organelles within the cell. The fringe pattern produced can be used to construct a three dimensional image of the cell. !
!
A commonly used set up of the Michelson Interferometer is shown in Figure 1 below. !
Figure 1 - Set Up of Michelson Interferometer!
!
When two light sources have the same wavelength and frequency, they are said to be coherent with one another. If they were to be combined at a certain point, they are said to be superimposed at that point. When superimposed, the two (or more) light waves' properties can interact and interfere with one another which can lead to two scenarios; the superimposed light waves can reinforce each other to produce a brighter image or they can diminish one another to produce a dimmer image. When they produce a brighter image, it is known