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Description

Interferometers are devices used to study electromagnetic waves through the use of wave interference. The Beck – Ealing 25 - 700 Interferometer can be configured to use Michelson or Fabry-Pérot methods for studying interference between waves. This interferometer was created in England by R & J Beck LTD, an optical company that is now under the ownership of Beck Optronic Solutions Ltd. The device we have appears to be mostly intact with a few parts missing. The parts missing include a few legs which screw into the bottom of the device, the 6281 and 6281A twin tungsten and mercury lamps, the 6290-gas cell, the 6294-needle valve, the 6289-manometer, and the 6288-vacuum pump. The gas cell, needle valve, manometer, and vacuum pump were once used to analyze the speed of light through a vacuum. The tungsten and mercury lamps are not a necessity for using the device; a typical helium-neon laser suffices for the Michelson configuration; however, a diffused light source is best for the Fabry-Pérot configuration.

The Fabry-Pérot configuration is achieved through placing two parallel mirrors within micrometers of each other with their reflective surfaces facing together. One mirror can be moved forward and backwards through an adjustable knob, with distance measured in micrometers. A light source, such as a sodium lamp, is passed through a collimating lens to converge the light onto the middle of the mirrors. The two mirrors reflect the beam multiple times and onto a surface, where an interference fringe can be observed.

Publication Date

1950

Keywords

Interferometer, spectrometry, physics, Michelson

Beck Interferometer - Fabry-Pérot Configuration

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