College Physics 10th Edition by Raymond Serway,Chris Vuille

Exercise 73

Monochromatic light is beamed into a Michelson interferometer. The movable mirror is displaced 0.382 mm, causing the central spot in the interferometer pattern to change from bright to dark and back to bright N = 1 700 times. (a) Determine the wavelength of the light. What color is it (b) If monochromatic red light is used instead and the mirror is moved the same distance, would N be larger or smaller Explain.