Rayleigh Interferometer
In optics, a Rayleigh interferometer is a type of interferometer which employs two beams of light from a single source. The two beams are recombined after traversing two optical paths, and the interference pattern after recombination allows the determination of the difference in path lengths. Principle of Operation Light from a source (left) is collimated by a lens and split into two beams using slits. The beams are sent through two different paths and pass through compensating plates. They are brought to a focus by a second lens (bottom) where an interference pattern is observed to determine the optical path difference in terms of wavelengths of the light. Advantages and disadvantages The advantage of the Rayleigh interferometer is its simple construction. Its drawbacks are (i) it requires a point or line source of light for good fringe visibility, and (ii) the fringes must be viewed with high magnification. See also *List of types of interferometers An interferometer is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rayleigh Differential Refractometer At The Automotive Laboratory Of The National Bureau Of Standards
Rayleigh may refer to: Science *Rayleigh scattering * Rayleigh–Jeans law *Rayleigh waves *Rayleigh (unit), a unit of photon flux named after the 4th Baron Rayleigh *Rayl, rayl or Rayleigh, two units of specific acoustic impedance and characteristic acoustic impedance, named after the 3rd Baron Rayleigh *Rayleigh criterion in angular resolution *Rayleigh distribution *Rayleigh fading *Rayleigh law on low-field magnetization *Rayleigh length *Rayleigh number, a dimensionless number for a fluid associated with buoyancy driven flow *Rayleigh quotient *Rayleigh–Ritz method *Plateau–Rayleigh instability explains why a falling stream of fluid breaks up into smaller packets *Rayleigh–Taylor instability an instability of an interface between two fluids Title of nobility *Baron Rayleigh **Charlotte Mary Gertrude Strutt, 1st Baroness Rayleigh **John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, physicist, winner of a Nobel Prize in 1904 **Robert John Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, physicist; ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties. Most optical phenomena can be accounted for by using the classical electromagnetic description of light. Complete electromagnetic descriptions of light are, however, often difficult to apply in practice. Practical optics is usually done using simplified models. The most common of these, geometric optics, treats light as a collection of rays that travel in straight lines and bend when they pass through or reflect from surfaces. Physical optics is a more comprehensive model of light, which includes wave effects such as diffraction and interference that cannot be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interferometry
Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber optics, engineering metrology, optical metrology, oceanography, seismology, spectroscopy (and its applications to chemistry), quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics, remote sensing, biomolecular interactions, surface profiling, microfluidics, mechanical stress/strain measurement, velocimetry, optometry, and making holograms. Interferometers are devices that extract information from interference. They are widely used in science and industry for the measurement of microscopic displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. In the case with most interferometers, light from a single source is split into two beams that travel in different optical paths, which are then combined again to produce interfer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Optical Path
Optical path (OP) is the trajectory that a light ray follows as it propagates through an optical medium. The geometrical optical-path length or simply geometrical path length (GPD) is the length of a segment in a given OP, i.e., the Euclidean distance integrated along a ray between any two points. The mechanical length of an optical device can be reduced to less than the GPD by using folded optics. The ''optical path length'' in a homogeneous medium is the GPD multiplied by the refractive index of the medium. Factors affecting optical path Path of light in medium, or between two media is affected by the following: * Reflection ** Total internal reflection * Refraction * Dispersion of light * Absorption Simple materials used * Lenses * Prisms * Mirrors * Transparent materials (e.g. optical filters) * Translucent materials (e.g. frosted glass) * Opaque Opacity or opaque may refer to: * Impediments to (especially, visible) light: ** Opacities, absorption coefficients ** Opacity ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interference (wave Propagation)
In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves combine by adding their displacement together at every single point in space and time, to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude. Constructive and destructive interference result from the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic, surface water waves, gravity waves, or matter waves. Etymology The word ''interference'' is derived from the Latin words ''inter'' which means "between" and ''fere'' which means "hit or strike", and was coined by Thomas Young in 1801. Mechanisms The principle of superposition of waves states that when two or more propagating waves of the same type are incident on the same point, the resultant amplitude at that point is equal to th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rayleigh Interferometer
In optics, a Rayleigh interferometer is a type of interferometer which employs two beams of light from a single source. The two beams are recombined after traversing two optical paths, and the interference pattern after recombination allows the determination of the difference in path lengths. Principle of Operation Light from a source (left) is collimated by a lens and split into two beams using slits. The beams are sent through two different paths and pass through compensating plates. They are brought to a focus by a second lens (bottom) where an interference pattern is observed to determine the optical path difference in terms of wavelengths of the light. Advantages and disadvantages The advantage of the Rayleigh interferometer is its simple construction. Its drawbacks are (i) it requires a point or line source of light for good fringe visibility, and (ii) the fringes must be viewed with high magnification. See also *List of types of interferometers An interferometer is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interference Pattern
In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves combine by adding their displacement together at every single point in space and time, to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude. Constructive and destructive interference result from the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic, surface water waves, gravity waves, or matter waves. Etymology The word ''interference'' is derived from the Latin words ''inter'' which means "between" and ''fere'' which means "hit or strike", and was coined by Thomas Young in 1801. Mechanisms The principle of superposition of waves states that when two or more propagating waves of the same type are incident on the same point, the resultant amplitude at that point is equal to t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Types Of Interferometers
An interferometer is a device for extracting information from the superposition of multiple waves. Field and linear interferometers *Air-wedge shearing interferometer *Astronomical interferometer / Michelson stellar interferometer * Classical interference microscopy *Bath interferometer (common path) * Cyclic interferometer * Diffraction-grating interferometer (white light) * Double-slit interferometer *Dual-polarization interferometry *Fabry–Pérot interferometer *Fizeau interferometer * Fourier-transform interferometer *Fresnel interferometer (e.g. Fresnel biprism, Fresnel mirror or Lloyd's mirror) *Fringes of Equal Chromatic Order interferometer (FECO) * Gabor hologram *Gires–Tournois etalon * Heterodyne interferometer (see heterodyne) * Holographic interferometer *Jamin interferometer *Laser Doppler vibrometer *Linnik interferometer (microscopy) * LUPI variant of Michelson *Lummer–Gehrcke interferometer *Mach–Zehnder interferometer *Martin–Puplett interferometer *M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |