Interferometer Experiment

Objectives

• To produce and observe the interference pattern.
• To measure the wavelength of laser source using the interferometer.

Principle

Phenomena of interference can be explained by the principle of superposition. Consider two E.M waves simultaneously propagating through the same region of space. The resultant electric field at any point in that region of space is the vector sum of the electric field of each wave. Depending on the strength of the resulting electric field at a point in space where the two waves superpose, we observe dark and bright regions in the interference pattern.

Key Features

• Easy to Setup – The apparatus is built on a sturdy and portable platform. The legs are height adjustable to aid leveling of the platform & precise optical alignment of the laser beam. All this reduces the time taken for setup and aids the ease of measurements.
• High quality beam splitter and reflective mirrors – The setup comes with 40 x 40 x 40mm beam splitter cube and 40 x 40mm (98% highly reflective) mirrors for clear fringe pattern.
• 1 micron step movement – The complex double lever mechanism enables a least count of 1 micron in movement of the fixed mirror. Measurement error is less than 5% in wavelength measurement.