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An instrument in which interference fringes in visible light are produced by splitting and subsequently recombining a beam of light. A half-silvered mirror is used to split the beam between two "arms" at right angles to each other; the beams are then reflected back from plane mirrors and recombined. The appearance and quality of the fringes produced provide information on the optical path differences in the two arms. This instrument is not to be confused with the Michelson stellar interferometer.
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