Michelsonn.
/ˈmʌɪkls(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈmaɪkəls(ə)n/ Physics and Astronomy.
1. Michelson experiment n. (also Michelson's experiment) = Michelson–Morley experiment n. at Michelson–Morley n. 1; (later also) any experiment performed using a Michelson interferometer.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > speed of light > experiment
Michelson experiment1892
Michelson–Morley experiment1896
1892 O. Lodge in Proc. Royal Soc. 51 100 Michelson's experiment is then discussed in detail... No error in its theory is discovered.
1894 Philos. Trans. 1893 (Royal Soc.) A. 184 753 The one thing in the way of the simple doctrine of an ether undisturbed by motion is Michelson's experiment, viz., the absence of a second-order effect due to terrestrial movement through free ether.
1920 Sci. Monthly Apr. 380 By superposition of two positive consequences of drift, the Michelson experiment, like every other yet made, declines to indicate that there is any drift at all.
1956 E. H. Hutten Lang. Mod. Physics iii. 99 The theory of special relativity rests mainly on the Michelson experiment.
1965 M. Garbuny Optical Physics vi. 308 That such a wavetrain moving through space with a finite length has actually a physical significance..can be demonstrated by the Michelson experiment.
1972 C. Møller Theory of Relativity (ed. 2) i. 28 Michelson's experiment was only the first of a long series of attempts to determine the motion of the earth relative to the ether.
1997 Appl. Optics 36 9509 Such a broadening [of laser scattering] should not have resulted in any discernible change in the original Michelson experiment [of 1992].
2.
a. Michelson interferometer n. (also Michelson's interferometer) a type of interferometer for measuring small distances in which a beam of light is split by a half-silvered mirror into two beams that travel by different paths, are reflected by different mirrors (one fixed, one movable), and are then recombined to give an interference pattern; (also) = Michelson stellar interferometer n. at sense 2b.The Michelson interferometer was originally constructed for use in the Michelson–Morley experiment.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > diffraction > [noun] > instrument employing interference
interferometer1897
Michelson interferometer1897
étalon1905
Fabry-Pérot1908
Mach–Zehnder interferometer1959
1897 Physical Rev. 4 480 An application of the Michelson ‘interferometer’ to the measurement of the small linear movements of the electrometer disk.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 250/1 Lodge..studied the behavior of a beam of light which was divided into two portions by a semi-transparent mirror as in Michelson's interferometer.
1920 Astrophysical Jrnl. 51 263 (title) Application of Michelson's interferometer method to the measurement of close double stars.
1931 H. S. Williams Bk. Marvels 71 Dr. Pease, at the Mount Wilson Observatory, using the Michelson Interferometer, with the aid of which the miracle is performed of measuring the diameter of a star.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) VII. 505/1 The Michelson–Morley apparatus..consists of a horizontal Michelson interferometer with its two arms at right angles.
1996 Chem. in Brit. Sept. 58/2 The optical bench based around a mechanical bearing utilises a Michelson interferometer with a beamsplitter placed at 60° to the source.
b. Michelson stellar interferometer n. (also Michelson's stellar interferometer) a means of finding the angular diameter of a small stellar source by placing two slits in front of a telescope objective, and deducing the diameter of the source from the separation of the slits when there are no interference fringes from the two resulting beams.
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1928 Science 9 Nov. 436/1 The possibility that a 40-foot Michelson stellar interferometer..may be attached to the telescope is under consideration.
1948 Nature 18 Sept. 462/2 In our experiments we have used the radio version of Michelson's stellar interferometer.
1960 Science 4 Mar. 649/3 During this period [J. A.] Anderson contributed significantly to the development of Michelson's stellar interferometer.
1974 A. Hecht & A. Zajac Optics xii. 435 (caption) Michelson stellar interferometer.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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