Abstract
A holographic interferometer suitable for the precise measurement of heat transfer is described. In this instrument interference occurs between beams which have traversed the same optical components and hence these components need not be of high quality. Compared with the conventional Mach‐Zehnder interferometer, the present instrument is less expensive and simpler to construct, and yet the two interferometers yield comparable accuracy. For illustration, the holographic interferometer is used to study the free convection thermal boundary layer on a heated isothermal vertical flat plate. The results are in good agreement with an existing theory.

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