Question

In a thermally stabilized lab, a Michelson interferometer is used to monitor the temperature to ensure it stays constant. The movable mirror is mounted on the end of a 1.00-m-long aluminum rod, held fixed at the other end. The light source is a He Ne laser, λ=632.8nm. The resolution of this apparatus corresponds to the temperature difference when a change of just one fringe is observed. What is this temperature difference?

Answer 1

A Michelson interferometer is used to monitor temperature in a thermally stabilized lab. The resolution of the apparatus corresponds to the temperature difference when a change of just one fringe is observed. The temperature difference can be calculated using the wavelength of the light source and the coefficient of linear expansion of the aluminum rod.

Step-by-step explanation:

A Michelson interferometer is used to monitor temperature in a thermally stabilized lab. The resolution of the apparatus corresponds to the temperature difference when a change of just one fringe is observed. To calculate this temperature difference, we need to determine the change in path length caused by a temperature change of one fringe. The path length difference, δL, can be calculated using the formula:

δL = λ / 2, where λ is the wavelength of the light source.

Given that the wavelength of the He Ne laser is 632.8 nm, the temperature difference can be calculated as follows:

Temperature difference = δL * α * L, where α is the coefficient of linear expansion and L is the length of the aluminum rod. Since the aluminum rod is 1.00 m long, we can plug in the values and calculate the temperature difference.