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Interferometry

 

 
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Interferometry
 
 
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Interferometry is the technique of diagnosing the properties of two or more wave
Wave

A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space and time, usually with transference of energy. While a mechanical wave exists in a medium , waves of electromagnetic radiation can travel through vacuum, that is, without a medium....
s by studying the pattern of interference
Interference

In physics, interference is the addition of two or more waves that result in a new wave pattern.Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves which are correlated or Coherence with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency....
 created by their superposition
Superposition principle

In physics and systems theory, the superposition principle, also known as superposition property, states that, for all linear systems,So that if input A produces response X and input B produces response Y then input produces response ....
. The instrument used to interfere the waves together is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
, fiber optics
Optical fiber

An optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers....
, engineering metrology, optical metrology
Metrology

Metrology is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement....
, oceanography
Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemi...
, seismology, quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
, plasma physics, and remote sensing.

Rudimentary principles
Interferometry makes use of the principle of superposition to combine separate waves together in a way that will cause the result of their combination to have some meaningful property that is diagnostic of the original state of the waves.






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Interferometry is the technique of diagnosing the properties of two or more wave
Wave

A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space and time, usually with transference of energy. While a mechanical wave exists in a medium , waves of electromagnetic radiation can travel through vacuum, that is, without a medium....
s by studying the pattern of interference
Interference

In physics, interference is the addition of two or more waves that result in a new wave pattern.Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves which are correlated or Coherence with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency....
 created by their superposition
Superposition principle

In physics and systems theory, the superposition principle, also known as superposition property, states that, for all linear systems,So that if input A produces response X and input B produces response Y then input produces response ....
. The instrument used to interfere the waves together is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
, fiber optics
Optical fiber

An optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers....
, engineering metrology, optical metrology
Metrology

Metrology is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement....
, oceanography
Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemi...
, seismology, quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
, plasma physics, and remote sensing.

Rudimentary principles


Interferometry makes use of the principle of superposition to combine separate waves together in a way that will cause the result of their combination to have some meaningful property that is diagnostic of the original state of the waves. This works because when two waves with the same frequency
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 combine, the resulting pattern is determined by the phase
Phase (waves)

The phase of an oscillation or wave is the fraction of a complete cycle corresponding to an offset in the displacement from a specified reference point at time t = 0....
 difference between the two waves -- waves that are in phase will undergo constructive interference while waves that are out of phase will undergo destructive interference. Most interferometers use light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
 or some other form of electromagnetic wave.