Determining the refractive index of liquids using a modified Michelson interferometer

An accurate method for measuring the refractive index of liquids is proposed, modeled, and experimentally verified. The experimental setup is a modified Michelson interferometer employing a novel liquid chamber that allows the optical pathlength to be continuously varied without moving a mirror. This experiment allows determining the refractive index of a given liquid to high precision, with an accuracy limited only by the normal random variables encountered in interferometric measurements and ultimately the accuracy to which the wavelength of the laser light is known. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.