Resumen de Using a Michelson Interferometer to Measure Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Copper
When most materials are heated they expand.1This concept is usually demonstrated using some type of mechanical measurement of the linear expansion of a metal rod.2We have developed an alternative laboratory method for measuring thermal expansion by using a Michelson interferometer. Using the method presented, interference, interferometry, and the principle of thermal expansion can be taught concurrently. The material is accessible to undergraduates and advanced high school physics students.
