All Questions
17
questions
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4
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How monochromatic waves can be incoherent?
Is it possible to have a monochromatic wave which is incoherent? On the one hand, it could be obtained by irradiating a laser beam on a strongly scattering medium like white paper. But on the other ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
30
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Modelling incoherent sources
Suppose some (coherent) light propagates onto a one-dimensional barrier with two open slits, each of length $\delta$ and separated by a distance $s$ (we can assume the centroid is known and placed at $...
- 21
-1
votes
1
answer
89
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Are hydrogen lamps coherent?
Those hydrogen or mercury tubes should not be coherent, but when looking at them through a grating without using a small aperture in front of the tube, you still see the discrete lines. Or just any ...
- 313
1
vote
3
answers
208
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What is the reason two rays originally polarized orthogonally but were rotated to parallel polarization does not visibly interfere even slightly?
The Fresnel–Arago laws by Augustin-Jean Fresnel and François Arago summarise some of the more important properties of interference between light of different states of polarization.
The laws are as ...
- 613
1
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3
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778
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Measuring coherence length with the Michelson Interferometer
In lab, I've been asked to measure the coherence length of a green-light laser source using a Michelson Interferometer. To do so, I configure the interferometer such that a circular fringe pattern ...
2
votes
1
answer
475
views
What is a 'good' coherence/correlation function for multimode spectra?
Following up on the question here and this answer in particular, I would like to pose the following question:
How to derive a formula for the coherence length of a multispectral source, such as a ...
- 181
8
votes
2
answers
575
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Magically reappearing fringes in Michelson interferometer for large path length differences?
I've built a simple Michelson interferometer from two mirrors and a beam splitter according to the following schematic:
Image source
My setup differs from the one in the publication in that mirror M1 ...
- 181
4
votes
2
answers
335
views
Does light from incoherent source interfere?
We say that for us to observe interference we use coherent source but even if we use non coherent source light should still interfere, right?
0
votes
1
answer
120
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What is the meaning of this statement in Optics, Born-&-Wolf regarding coherence length?
In their treatise "Principles of Optics", Max Born and Emil Wolf state in the section on coherence length (page 317, para 1) that:
...... as the difference of optical path is increased, the ...
- 421
2
votes
4
answers
4k
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What does it mean for a light to have low-coherence?
I've been searching about OCT imaging and understood that it is based on low-coherence light source. The problem is, I don't understand what is a low-coherence light source. Based on what points that ...
-1
votes
2
answers
167
views
Why does interference take place even though coherence is absent in YDSE [duplicate]
(Might seem like a duplicate but is not)
The original Young's double slit experiment makes use of a single incoherent source being incident on two different slits to get two coherent sources.
The ...
3
votes
2
answers
84
views
What kind of light coherence is required for an image
If
1- Optically speaking, an image point (or pixel) is a light interference pattern
2- interference patterns require phase coherence
then
3- the source of the image point must emit coherent light
...
- 1,586
0
votes
0
answers
76
views
Phase front of a laser beam through an imperfect optical element
I'm not sure what to make of the following thought experiment: consider a Rayleigh interferometer, where one arm holds a cuvette with some transparent liquid. The aim is to measure the refractive ...
- 151
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How far apart can the slits be in a double-slit experiment using direct sunlight?
In a normal double slit experiment, I'm told that sunlight doesn't produce a visible interference pattern because there is no stable phase relationship between the two slits.
However, sunlight ...
- 53.2k
1
vote
1
answer
1k
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Why, in order to obtain distinct interference, is a small distance between the two waves essential?
This is quoted from Concepts of Physics by H.C.Verma, chapter "Light Waves", page 370, under the topic "17.9 Coherent and Incoherent Sources":
In order to obtain a fairly distinct interference ...
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