Danyon Messages 83 Reaction score 1 Thread starter Oct 25, 2015 #1 What happens to the energy of a laser beam when it completely deconstructively interferes with itself in a michelson interferometer?
What happens to the energy of a laser beam when it completely deconstructively interferes with itself in a michelson interferometer?
blue_leaf77 Science Advisor Messages 2,637 Reaction score 786 Oct 25, 2015 #2 The missing energy goes back to the source. It can be understood from the phase shift attained upon reflection in the beam splitter.
The missing energy goes back to the source. It can be understood from the phase shift attained upon reflection in the beam splitter.
ddesaneis Messages 12 Reaction score 0 Oct 25, 2015 #3 Within an interferometer, photon interference causes changes in detect-ability. Collisions between photons do not change energy, except when high-energy photons create matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-photon_physics
Within an interferometer, photon interference causes changes in detect-ability. Collisions between photons do not change energy, except when high-energy photons create matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-photon_physics