Experimental Determination of the Velocity of Light: Made at the U.S. Naval Academy, AnnapolisMichelson, Albert A. (Albert Abraham)
Science
Experimental Determination of the Velocity of Light: Made at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis
Michelson, Albert A. (Albert Abraham)
Light -- Speed
This instrument is shown in perspective in Fig. 8, and in plan by Fig. 9.
The adjustable slit S is clamped to the frame F. A long millimeter-screw,
not shown in Fig. 8, terminating in the divided head D, moves the carriage
C, which supports the eye-piece E. The frame is furnished with a brass
scale at F for counting revolutions, the head counting hundredths. The
eye-piece consists of a single achromatic lens, whose focal length is
about two inches. At its focus, in H, and in nearly the same plane as the
face of the slit, is a single vertical silk fiber. The apparatus is
furnished with a standard with rack and pinion, and the base furnished
with leveling screws.
Manner of Using the Micrometer.
In measuring the deflection, the eye-piece is moved till the cross-hair
bisects the slit, and the reading of the scale and divided head gives the
position. This measurement need not be repeated unless the position or
width of the slit is changed. Then the eye-piece is moved till the
cross-hair bisects the deflected image of the slit; the reading of scale
and head are again taken, and the difference in readings gives the
deflection. The screw was found to have no lost motion, so that readings
could be taken with the screw turned in either direction.
Measurement of Speed of Rotation.
To measure the speed of rotation, a tuning-fork, bearing on one prong a
steel mirror, was used. This was kept in vibration by a current of
electricity from five "gravity" cells. The fork was so placed that the
light from the revolving mirror was reflected to a piece of plane glass,
in front of the lens of the eye-piece of the micrometer, inclined at an
angle of 45°, and thence to the eye. When fork and revolving mirror are
both at rest, an image of the revolving mirror is seen. When the fork
vibrates, this image is drawn out into a band of light.
When the mirror commences to revolve, this band breaks up into a number of
moving images of the mirror; and when, finally, the mirror makes as many
turns as the fork makes vibrations, these images are reduced to one, which
is stationary. This is also the case when the number of turns is a
submultiple. When it is a multiple or simple ratio, the only difference is
that there are more images. Hence, to make the mirror execute a certain
number of turns, it is simply necessary to pull the cord attached to the
valve to the right or left till the images of the revolving mirror come to
rest.
The electric fork made about 128 vibrations per second. No dependence was
placed upon this rate, however, but at each set of observations it is
compared with a standard Ut₃ fork, the temperature being noted at the
same time. In making the comparison the sound-beats produced by the forks
were counted for 60 seconds. It is interesting to note that the electric
fork, as long as it remained untouched and at the same temperature, did
not change its rate more than one or two hundredths vibrations per second.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.]
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