I did expect to see a change in the laser dot. Mostly I expected fringes that flicker due to small vibrations in my hand (fringes along the lines of (along the lines of https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Michelson_Interferometer_Red_Laser_Interference.jpg or...
I was thinking maybe it's a contrast issue ( and ) and tried to make sure my pathlengths are similar for the two beams. I wasn't able to get any improvements.
I may need to play around with the contrast from pathlength issues some more, but that doesn't seem to be a promising avenue.
Also...
I’m looking to demonstrate destructive optical interference using a laser pointer. I’m splitting the beam with a prism and projecting the beams onto one point on the wall. Somehow I’m failing to get any effect, however.
Setup:
1. I’m using a static laser pointer, a prism and a handheld mirror...