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Wave optics and interferometry
content provider: Nils Sorensen
written by Nils Sorensen
For many purposes, you can consider light to propagate as rays, explaining phenomena such as shadows or imaging with a pin-hole camera. Even refraction of light at interfaces between transparent matter or vacuum can be understood in the framework of ray optics by introducing an index of refraction n and using Snell's laws of refraction. This explains lenses, prisms, or effects such as mirages.  However, light is an electromagnetic wave.  You can only neglect the wave nature of light and use a ray description if all sizes are much larger than the wavelength of light. And even this is only true if you have completely "incoherent" light, for example from the sun or from a light bulb. Things entirely change if sizes become small, or if you have pure light of a single color as it can be generated by a laser.

In today's lab we will explore both of these cases and explore the wave nature of light. We will also use light to carry out two precision measurements. We will measure the index of refraction of air, and the tiny displacement of a piezo actuator.
AAPT Summer Meeting
Part of the Advanced Physics Labs Workshops series
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: July 28 - August 1, 2012
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Optics
- Interference
= Interferometers
- Modern Optics
- Upper Undergraduate
- Lower Undergraduate
- Instructional Material
= Instructor Guide/Manual
= Laboratory
= Student Guide
Material Category Formats Ratings
- Lab Manual
- application/pdf
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application/pdf
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© 2012 Harvard University
Keyword:
Mach Zehnder
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created July 28, 2012 by Ramon Torres-Isea
Record Updated:
February 14, 2013 by Ramon Torres-Isea
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Record Link
AIP Format
N. Sorensen, , presented at the AAPT Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2012, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052).
AJP/PRST-PER
N. Sorensen, Wave optics and interferometry, presented at the AAPT Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2012, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052>.
APA Format
Sorensen, N. (2012, July 28 - August 1). Wave optics and interferometry. Paper presented at AAPT Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved December 13, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052
Chicago Format
Sorensen, Nils. "Wave optics and interferometry." Paper presented at the AAPT Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 28 - August 1, 2012. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052 (accessed 13 December 2024).
MLA Format
Sorensen, Nils. "Wave optics and interferometry." AAPT Summer Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2012. of Advanced Physics Labs Workshops. 13 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Nils Sorensen", Title = {Wave optics and interferometry}, BookTitle = {AAPT Summer Meeting}, Address = {Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}, Series = {Advanced Physics Labs Workshops}, Month = {July 28 - August 1}, Year = {2012} }
Refer Export Format

%A Nils Sorensen %T Wave optics and interferometry %S Advanced Physics Labs Workshops %D July 28 - August 1 2012 %C Philadelphia, Pennsylvania %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052 %O AAPT Summer Meeting %O July 28 - August 1 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Sorensen, Nils %D July 28 - August 1 2012 %T Wave optics and interferometry %B AAPT Summer Meeting %C Philadelphia, Pennsylvania %S Advanced Physics Labs Workshops %8 July 28 - August 1 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12309&DocID=3052


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