Mach-Zehnder interferometer

noun

A device used to determine the relative phase shift variations between two collimated beams derived by splitting light from a single source.

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Meanings

nounMach-Zehnder interferometer (plural Mach-Zehnder interferometers)

plural Mach-Zehnder interferometers

  1. A device used to determine the relative phase shift variations between two collimated beams derived by splitting light from a single source.

Origin

Named after the physicists Ludwig Mach (who refined the idea) and Ludwig Zehnder (who proposed it in 1891).

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Cite this entry
APA

Mach-Zehnder interferometer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mach-Zehnder%20interferometer

MLA

“Mach-Zehnder interferometer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mach-Zehnder%20interferometer. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mach-Zehnder interferometer,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mach-Zehnder%20interferometer.

Source: Mach-Zehnder interferometer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.