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3.5 Exercise 1

Avg difficulty 2.5

Although m, the number of fringes observed, is an integer, which is often regarded as having zero uncertainty, in practical terms, it is all too easy to lose track when counting fringes. In the example, if you estimate that you might have missed as many as five fringes when you reported m=122m = 122 fringes, (a) is the value for the index of refraction worked out in the example too large or too small? (b) By how much?

OpenStax University Physics Volume 3, 3.5 The Michelson Interferometer, exercise 1

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Adapted from University Physics Volume 3 © 2016 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: University Physics Volume 3. Imported at revision db44eb9.