Project Helios

Digitally assisted optical platform based on a Michaelson Interferometer from a recycled DVD drive. A Michaelson Interferometer is a typical configuration for interferometry in which a laser first hits a beamsplitter. The light is roughly equally split, travelling in two perpendicular directions, but hit a mirror, which bounces both beams back to the beamsplitter. This makes the light recombine in a strange way, creating a rippling effect and travelling in a completely new direction. A lens is then used to enlarge this image onto a photodiode. These ripples can then be used to mathematically calculate