Optics Experiments

Physics 3340/4430/5430 Spring Semester, 2006

Experiments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 are designed to be completed in one week, while 5, 6, and 7 may take two weeks. The experiments could be done in any order, but the simplest ones are listed first. Experiment 4 will be easier to understand after 3, and 6 should be done after 3, 4, 5, or 7. Everybody will do the Projecting Microscope in the first week. 

NOTE: These links will take you to a pdf file describing the experiment.

1. Projecting Microscope. An introduction to the optical bench and use of simple lenses with a He-Ne laser. (1 week)

2. Fraunhoffer Diffraction. Diffraction of a laser beam through a single slit. (1 week)

3. Fourier Optics. Demonstration of the connection between diffraction and spatial Fourier transforms. (1 week)

4. Michelson Interferometer. Introduction to interferometry. Observation of straight and circular fringe patterns. Precise measurement of the wavelength of a He-Ne laser. (1 week)

5. Holography. Expose and reconstruct a two-beam transmission hologram. (2 weeks)

6. Hydrogen Spectroscopy. Measurement of the hydrogen emission spectrum with a reflection grating spectrometer. (2 weeks)

7. Polarization of Light. Test of the Fresnel equations for the reflection and refraction of polarized light. (2 weeks)

8. Optical Harmonic Generation. Use a pulsed Nd:YAG laser to investigate upconversion of light from the infrared into the visible and UV, using nonlinear-optical conversion. (1 week)

9. Laser Spectroscopy. See the Modern Physics experiments. (3 weeks)