Huygens Optics | Interferometer Interference @HuygensOptics | Uploaded January 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
This short video shows how the intensity distribution changes in a wave interferometer, when one of the mirrors is moved by 1/4 of a wavelength. A shift by 1/4 wavelength in the mirror position introduces a phase shift of 1/2 lambda (180 degrees phase shift) and introduces "destructive interference" in one of the wave return paths).
You can see that destructive interference is actually about rerouting the intensity to somewhere else: in this case, the waves return in the direction of the wave source itself (located above the beam splitter), create a standing wave pattern between the incoming and outgoing waves.
This wave simulation was made using the code supplied by @DiffractionLimited
The image file for the simulation can be downloaded here:
huygensoptics.com/2D_wave_sims/interferometer.png
#short #light #physics #optics
This short video shows how the intensity distribution changes in a wave interferometer, when one of the mirrors is moved by 1/4 of a wavelength. A shift by 1/4 wavelength in the mirror position introduces a phase shift of 1/2 lambda (180 degrees phase shift) and introduces "destructive interference" in one of the wave return paths).
You can see that destructive interference is actually about rerouting the intensity to somewhere else: in this case, the waves return in the direction of the wave source itself (located above the beam splitter), create a standing wave pattern between the incoming and outgoing waves.
This wave simulation was made using the code supplied by @DiffractionLimited
The image file for the simulation can be downloaded here:
huygensoptics.com/2D_wave_sims/interferometer.png
#short #light #physics #optics
