Description and Operation
Typically 3 or more mirrors are used, so that counter-propagating light beams follow a closed path such as a triangle or square.(Fig. 1) Alternatively fiber optics can be employed to guide the light through a closed path.(Fig. 2) If the platform on which the ring interferometer is mounted is rotating, the interference fringes are displaced compared to their position when the platform is not rotating. The amount of displacement is proportional to the angular velocity of the rotating platform. The axis of rotation does not have to be inside the enclosed area.
The Sagnac effect in a circular loop can be understood as follows. When the loop is rotating, the point of entry/exit moves during the transit time of the light. The backwards-propagating beam covers less distance than the forwards-propagating beam and arrives earlier.(Fig. 3) This creates a shift in the interference pattern. The shift of the interference fringes is thereby proportional to the platform's angular velocity.
The rotation thus measured is an absolute rotation, that is, the platform's rotation with respect to an inertial reference frame.
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