Three beam interferometer for the observation of kinetic cooling in air.
A three beam interferometer, which has recently been used to measure the time constant associated with kinetic cooling, is described in detail. Design features necessitated by operation of the device over a 5-m path are discussed, as well as system response to vibrational noise and drift, and means used for their monitoring and control. The effective working length resolution of the system, dL/L, was 1 part in 2.6 x 10(9) with a He-Ne laser source operating at 0.63 microm.
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