Michelson interferometer: Quick Facts

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Photos

Diagram of a Michelson interferometer showing a laser beam split by a half-transparent mirror into two paths, reflected by a movable and a fixed mirror, and recombined to create an interference pattern on a screen.

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

Figure 9: The Michelson interferometer.

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Topics

Michelson-Morley experiment optical interferometer

Key People

A.A. Michelson.

A.A. Michelson

German-born American physicist