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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
In 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, ultraviole ...
, a Rayleigh interferometer is a type of interferometer
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 op ...
which employs two beams of light from a single source. The two beams are recombined after traversing two optical paths, and the interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
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
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 ...
is observed to determine the 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 dis ...
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 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 int ...
References
{{Reflist Interferometers