Abstract:
The interferometer is the most accurate measuring device known to man. It was created by Albert A. Michelson. The operation of the interferometer described briefly is a light beam that is separated by a beam splitter. The two beams then travel equal distances at 90° of each other where they are reflected off two mirrors back through the beam splitter. They are then superimposed on to a screen. The screen will display an interference pattern of fringes. The interferometer is extremely sensitive to vibrations and should be isolated from them
The interferometer is the most accurate device presently known to man, and most likely will remain the most accurate measuring device for the next hundred years” Cal Christiansen. The interferometer can measure lengths of one half the wavelength of the light source being used. With a HeNe laser (Helium Neon) this length is 316.4nm, about 1/3 of a micron. The interferometer is able to measure very small distances by the interference produced between two lasers beams. With this degree of accuracy there are clearly many uses for this device including, measuring flatness, structural stress, and making linear measurements.
Albert A. Michelson is the father of the interferometer and the “Michelson Interferometer” is still used today. Michelson was born in Prussia in 1872 and later moved to the United States where he joined the U.S. Navy. As an instructor in the Navy academy he was asked to demonstrate the Foucault method of measuring the speed of light and made several improvements on it. Michelson received a grant and built his first interferometer much like the one presently used. It consisted of an Argand lamp, two mirrors, two beam splitters and an eyepiece. The device was extremely sensitive to vibrations and wasn’t accurate until it was brought to the Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory in Berlin where it was mounted on a platform designed for an equatorial telescope. With proper setup Michelson attempted to detect the presence ether, an invisible undetectable material that surrounded by all matter. This was unsuccessful and Einstein later declared that the ether did not exit and light travels at the same speed in all directions. Michelson would later receive the Nobel Prize for science for “precision optical instruments and the spectroscope and metrological investigations conducted herewith.” Several versions of the interferometer were devised by Michelson including, the interferential comparator for standardizing the meter, a mechanical harmonic analyzer for testing the harmonic motion of fringes, and a stellar interferometer for measuring the size of stars.
The only materials needed in the experiment were a single dial caliper, and the skin of the participant that was measured (Lab Manual). A dial caliper was available for purchase online through the use of a simple Google search. The dial caliper was a long metal object with one dial, that was adjustable and that moved the two sharp points at the end of the caliper further away from each other. The purpose of the dial caliper was to measure the length of space between the two sharper points of the dial caliper.
to get an idea of how I would do my real experiment and what apparatus
sample using a triple beam balance. Then, fill the small chamber about halfway with water and measure
Possible sources of error in this experiment include the inaccuracy of measurements, as correct measurements are vital for the experiment.
Beside its contribution to physics Einstein’s relativity also offered so many scientific bases for some breakthroughs and new technologies. We can divide the influences into two aspects.
1) A stationary body will stay stationary unless an external force is applied to it; 2) Force is equal to mass times acceleration, and a change in motion is proportional to the force applied; and 3) For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. (Bio.org, 2017) He invented the optics which he helped to inspire the build of the
An oscilloscope is a laboratory instrument that commonly used to display and analyze the waveform of electronic signals. This device draws a graph of signal voltage as a function of time. Oscilloscope usually have two-dimensional graph which electrical potential differences represent by Y-axis (vertical) and time represent by X-axis (horizontal). With positive values going upward and negative values going downward (Ask.com, 2014). In any oscilloscope, the horizontal sweep is measured in seconds per division (s/div), milliseconds per division (ms/div), microseconds per division (s/div), or nanoseconds per division (ns/div). The vertical deflection is measured in volts per division (V/div), millivolts per division (mV/div), or microvolts per division (µV/div).
When a ray of light is bounced or reflected off of a plane surface, there is a specific law that can be used to predict the angle at which it is reflected off of the surface. This is known as the ‘Law of Reflection’ and it states:
Galileo used this great invention to report astronomical facts such as the moon is cover with craters instead of being smooth, the Milky Way is composed of millions of stars, and Jupiter have four moons. Perhaps the most famous discovery is the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the universe (even though he was discredited at the time).
Masters, Barry R. "Albert Einstein and the Nature of Light." 2010. Optics and Photonics News. The Optical Society. Article. 31 March 2014. .
The barometer is a device for measuring the total pressure of the atmosphere. A primitive barometer can easily be constructed by taking a glass tube about a meter long, sealing one end, filling the tube completely with mercury, placing your thumb firmly over the open end, and carefully inverting the tube into an open dish filled with mercury. The mercury will fall to a height independent of the diameter of the tube and a vacuum will be created above it.
As my science fair topic, I chose to test the accuracy of using parallax to measure distance. I chose this topic because it relates to two of my favorite topics: mathematics and astronomy. Parallax uses a mathematical formula and is most commonly used to measure the distance between celestial bodies. From my research on parallax, I found how to measure it, and how to use the parallax formula to measure distances.
People are familiar with measuring things in the macroscopic world around them. Someone pulls out a tape measure and determines the length of a table. A state trooper aims his radar gun at a car and knows what direction the car is traveling, as well as how fast. They get the information they want and don't worry whether the measurement itself has changed what they were measuring. After all, what would be the sense in determining that a table is 80 cm long if the very act of measuring it changed its length!
The distance where by a search scanner can discover something different first from its surroundings but not yet identify it.