Interferometer

Interferometer

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Description
Designed by the American physicist, Albert A. Michelson, this type of interferometer measures the speed of light along two different paths. Using an instrument of this sort in 1887, Michelson and Edward Morley showed that the speed of light is not affected by the motion of the earth through the supposed luminiferous ether. The inscription on the base of this example reads "BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY / PHYSICS DEPARTMENT" That on the lid of the Masonite box reads "INTERFEROMETER #143.”
Ref: Clarence H. Swick, Modern Methods for Measuring the Intensity of Gravity (Washington, D.C., 1921), fig. 16.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
interferometer
Measurements
overall in box: 11 7/8 in x 11 1/2 in x 8 1/4 in; 30.1625 cm x 29.21 cm x 20.955 cm
ID Number
PH.318423
catalog number
318423
accession number
235481
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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