Optics & Special Relativity

Michelson-Morley Interferometer

Simulate Albert Michelson & Edward Morley's 1887 ether drift experiment. Split a laser beam down perpendicular arms $L_1$ and $L_2$ to test for luminiferous ether wind and observe interference fringe shifts.

Ether Speed v/c 0.25 c

Time Difference Δt 0.065 fs

Fringe Shift ΔN 0.42 fringes

Apparatus Parameters

Ether Wind Speed v/c 0.25

Apparatus Angle 0°

Arm 1 Length L₁ 180 mm

Visual Overlay

Show Optics Badges (Laser, Splitter, Mirrors)

Show Light Wave & Ether Velocity Vectors

Show Live Detector Fringe Pattern

Controls

Ether Drift Time Difference & Fringe Shift

Parallel Arm Time: t_∥ = (2 L / c) · [1 / (1 - v²/c²)]
Perpendicular Arm Time: t_⊥ = (2 L / c) · [1 / √(1 - v²/c²)]
Expected Shift on Rotation: ΔN = (2 L / λ) · (v² / c²)

Developer Reference

Core Algorithm & Standalone Script

// Michelson-Morley ether drift optics simulation
const canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
// delta_N = (2 * L / lambda) * (v^2 / c^2)