Levels

Lab

The physics

Light moves more slowly in glass. Put a clear sheet of thickness t and index μ over one slit. It adds extra path to that slit's route.

extra path = (μ − 1)t

The central fringe sits where the two routes are equal. So the whole pattern slides toward the covered slit. The fringe width stays the same.

shift = (μ − 1)t D / d    fringes moved = (μ − 1)t / λ

Light that arrives tilted by α gives one slit a longer route, d sin α. The central fringe then moves along the tilt, by D sin α.