Building a Mach Zehnder Interferometer with Limited Resources

Interferometers are simple optical devices that function by splitting a coherent light beam. The beam is recombined using beam splitters and mirrors. The addition of the two light beams produces interference patterns in the forms of fringes which can be used to study the path taken by the two beams. This is old technology and we sought to construct an interferometer using rudimentary and cast-off equipment. The purpose is to show that modern physics concepts can be measured inexpensively and by undergraduate student design. Though we had no optics table and or optical mounts, by careful alignment and adjustments to the equipment, we were able to produce fringes whose intensity could measure phase changes of a light beam as it goes through various mediums. We were able to determine and learn more about the properties of light and produce successful results. This demonstrates a method of introducing modern physics lab applications at a low cost