Experiment done by French

physicist Armand Fizeau

measured speed of light In 1849

In 1849, French physicist Armand

Fizeau measured speed of light

slot
B

C
35 KM
D

Experiment
set up
Rotating tooth
wheel

Slotted wheel

Beam of light is focused through

lens E & falls on partial mirror A
slot
35 KM

E
A

Rotating tooth
wheel

After reflection from mirror A it

passes through slot in rotating
tooth wheel
slot
35 KM

Rotating tooth
wheel

It then goes through lens B, travels

35 km as parallel beam & gets
focus on mirror D thru lens C
slot
C
B
35 KM
D

Rotating tooth
wheel

After reflection from mirror D it

travels same path back & enter
eye through partial mirror A
slot
35 KM

A
A

Rotating tooth
wheel

Observations & calculations

At low RPM of wheel, the light beam returns

through the same opening through which it
was transmitted (RPS = rotation per sec.)

Number of
teeth = 12

 As the RPM increases, the light is blocked by

the wheel as it advanced half the distance
before light returns. Note the speed of wheel
(Rotation per sec.)

Number of
teeth = 12

Time required for light to travel 70 KM = time

required by wheel to rotate by angle

N = Measured
revolutions / sec
Number of teeth =14
= 360/ 28
As Circle is
divided in 28
parts(14 tooth &
14 slots
Time for rotation of o
=

28
N

Secs

(N = Rotations / sec,C= velocity

of light )
70 x N By measuring N
C =
we can calculate C
28
70
=
C

28
N

Number of
teeth = 14

 Further increasing RPS, the wheel advances

to next slot and returned beam becomes
visible through next slot. This reading can
also be used to calculate C

Number of
teeth = 14

Another experiment
having more accuracy:
Using Rotating mirror with
lesser

A beam of light bounces between a rotating mirror &

a fixed mirror and back to the rotating mirror for a
total distance 2D,
D KM

By the time light returns back to mirror in 2D / C secs

(where C is velocity of light) mirror will rotate
through some angle.
D KM

This will reflect light by 0 from original path.

D KM

For different values of known angle , measure

RPM of mirror at which light becomes visible

For 0 of light rotation mirror will rotate by /20

/2

Calculations
In one rotation mirror rotates by 2 0
If RPM of mirror is N, in one sec mirror will
rotate 60 x 2 x N degrees
Now mirror has rotated by angle /20 when
light got reflected by angle 0
Hence time taken by mirror to rotate by /20
= time taken by light to travel 2D KM

2D
=

2 x 60 x 2 x N
C

C =

8 x 60 x x N x D

A similar exp. was repeated to find effect of

velocity of medium on velocity of light. It ws found
that light velocity remained same
Water

The basic technique is to send a beam of on a path so that it bounces between a

rotating mirror, a fixed mirror and back to the rotating mirror for a total distance
2D, as shown in the above illustration. The time of flight of the light on this path
implies that the rotating mirror will have turned very slightly between the two times
of arrival of the light. This small rotation will deflect the beam of light through a
small angle from its original path, producing a measurable effect proportional to
the mirror and inversely proportional to the speed of light.
If the rotational frequency (revolutions per unit time) of the mirror is given by ,
then the deflection angle is given by

(2 D) 8
2(2 )

D
c
c

,
where the second factor angular frequency of
rotation and the last is the time to travel back and
forth between the mirrors.

The basic technique is to send a beam of on a path so that it bounces between a

rotating mirror, a fixed mirror and back to the rotating mirror for a total distance
2D, as shown in the above illustration. The time of flight of the light on this path
implies that the rotating mirror will have turned very slightly between the two times
of arrival of the light. This small rotation will deflect the beam of light through a
small angle from its original path, producing a measurable effect proportional to
the mirror and inversely proportional to the speed of light.
If the rotational frequency (revolutions per unit time) of the mirror is given by ,
then the deflection angle is given by

(2 D) 8
2(2 )

D
c
c

,
where the second factor angular frequency of
rotation and the last is the time to travel back and
forth between the mirrors.

In 1849, French physicist Armand Fizeau

developed a device known as the Fizeau wheel in
order to measure the speed of light. This instrument consists of a rotating toothed wheel
through which a beam of light is passed. The light is then reflected by a distant mirror, which
reflects it back to the wheel. When the rotation speed is low, the light beam returns quickly
enough so as to pass through the same opening through which it was transmitted. As the
rotation speed increases, the light is blocked because the wheel has advanced one-half the
distance between openings. Further increasing the speed, the wheel advances the entire
distance between openings, and the beam again passes through. Knowing all the dimensions
involved and the speeds at which the light beam passed or didn't pass, Fizeau could calculate
the speed of light.
The apparatus was subsequently improved upon by Fizeau's contemporary Jean Foucault,
who used a rotating polygonal mirror and a distant mirror. As the light beam returned from its
path to the distant mirror, the rotating mirror had advanced slightly and the beam was reflected
at a slight angle by a different face of the mirror. Knowing the deflection angle, the distance to
the fixed mirror, and the speed of rotation, he calculated the speed of light to be 298,000,000
meters per second, very close to the currently accepted value.

FizeauFoucault apparatus

Rotating mirror
For our setup, we used a lens with a focal length of 5m, and set G and
G to be 10m. We set the distance D to be approximately 13m and D to
be 7m. In order to observe the deflection of the beam, we inserted a
thin (to minimize internal reflections) microscope slide beam splitter just
before the source. Our rotating mirror is based on a Bosch router motor,
with a peak speed of 27000rpm at 120V AC.

The FizeauFoucault apparatus (1850) (Figure 1) was designed by the French

physicists Hippolyte Fizeau and Lon Foucault for measuring the speed of light. The
apparatus involves light reflecting off a rotating mirror, toward a stationary mirror
some 20 miles (35 kilometers) away. As the rotating mirror will have moved slightly in
the time it takes for the light to bounce off the stationary mirror (and return to the
rotating mirror), it will thus be deflected away from the original source, by a small
angle.[1] If the distance between mirrors is h, the time between the first and second
reflections on the rotating mirror is 2h/c (c = speed of light). If the mirror rotates at

Observations:
At low RPM of wheel, the light beam returns
through the same opening through which it was
transmitted
As the RPM increases, the light is blocked by
the wheel as it advanced one-half the distance
before light returns. Note the speed of wheel
Further increasing RPM, the wheel advances
to next slot and returned beam becomes
visible through next slot

 As the rotation speed increases, the light is

blocked because the wheel has advanced onehalf the distance between openings
Further increasing the speed, the wheel
advances the entire distance between
openings, and the beam again passes through.
Knowing all the dimensions involved and the
speeds at which the light beam passed or didn't
pass, Fizeau could calculate the speed of light.

A beam of light bounces between a rotating mirror, a

fixed mirror and back to the rotating mirror for a total
distance 2D, The rotating mirror will have turned by
angle /2 by the time light returns back to mirror
(2D / C secs) .This will reflect light by 0 from
original path. By measuring this angle we can
calculate velocity of light
If RPM mirror is given by v, then the deflection angle
is measured as

(2 D) 8
2(2 )

D
c
c