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The Michelson-Morley experiment seems to have taken many years, resources and a nervous breakdown to complete.

Is it possible to recreate a variation of this experiment at home for say, under $1000, given the technological advances of the last 126 years?

The 1887 experiment was looking for a variation of 29 km/s along the surface of the Earth. I'd like to look for a variation of 11 km/s perpendicular to the surface of the Earth.

The expected fringe shift of the MMX was: $$ n≈\frac{2Lv^2}{\lambda c^2}≈\frac{2(11m)(29km/s)^2}{(500nm) c^2}≈0.44 $$ In this case the fringe shift would be: $$ n≈\frac{2(11m)(11km/s)^2}{(500nm) c^2}≈0.06 $$

It also appears that their apparatus could rotate $360^\circ$ (by being floated on a pool of mercury), so that they could compare the phase shifts. Is it necessary to reproduce this rotation (in the vertical direction) or is there a modern way to achieve the same measurement using a fixed apparatus?

Oh yeah and also, has this been done in the past?

Colin McFaul
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aepryus
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1 Answers1

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We did this experiment in my undergraduate physics class. Search for "Michelson-Morley experiment classroom" and you will find products such as this: http://i-fiberoptics.com/laser_detail.php?id=2120

Before the advent of lasers with a visible beam, the alignment of interferometer components was very difficult to achieve under ordinary laboratory conditions. Now, using the brilliant red beam of an inexpensive Industrial Fiber Optics laser pointer, alignment can be achieved in just a few seconds.

Mark Rovetta
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