Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 7 are designed to be completed in one week, while 4, 5, and 6 may take two weeks. The experiments could be done in any order, but the simplest ones are listed first. Experiment 3 will be easier to understand after 2, and 5 should be done after 2, 3, 4, or 6. If you have never worked with optics, do 1 first.

1. Projecting Microscope. An introduction to the optical bench and use of simple lenses with a HeNe laser.

2. Fraunhoffer Diffraction. Diffraction of a laser beam through a single slit.

3. Fourier Optics. Demonstration of the connection between diffraction and spatial Fourier transforms.

4. Michelson Interferometer. Introduction to interferometry. Observation of straight and circular fringe patterns. Precise measurement of the wavelength of a HeNe laser.

5. Holography. Expose and reconstruct a twobeam transmission hologram.

6. Hydrogen Spectroscopy. Measurement of the hydrogen emission spectrum with a reflection grating spectrometer.

7. Polarization of Light. Test of the Fresnel equations for the reflection and refraction of polarized light.

8. Nonlinear Optics. .

9. Laser Spectroscopy. See the Modern Physics experiments.