interferometer

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A device that combines observations of the same astronomical object made by two or more separate instruments to obtain a higher resolution image than would be possible from any of the instruments on its own. The signals from each instrument are put together to form an interference pattern. Radio interferometers have been used widely in radio astronomy for many years; an example is the Very Large Array in New Mexico. More recently, optical interferometers have begun to play a major role in observational astronomy at visible wavelengths. The world's most powerful optical interferometer is the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.


interferometer The underground interferometric tunnel and the delay lines that connect the main instruments of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and allow them to function as the world's most powerful optical interferometer. European Southern Observatory

An instrument that measures the wavelengths of light and distances. It transmits two radio signals or beams of light and uses the interference principle (how they reinforce or neutralize each other) to determine the measurement.

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an instrument that divides a beam of electromagnetic radiation into a number of beams and reunites them to produce interference fringes. It is useful for accurate measurement of the wavelength of the radiation, examination of the hyperfine structure of spectral lines, the testing of the flatness of surfaces, etc.
—interferometric adj.; interferometrically adv.; interferometry n.

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• Branches, Laws, Theories, and Techniques - interferometer: instrument that produces interference patterns of light that enable precise measurement of minute wavelengths

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