The development of fill field interferometry as a velocimetry technique in
experimental fluid mechanics from its inception in 1977 to the present is d
iscussed. In 1977, holographic interferometry (HI) was applied for the firs
t time to measure the velocity field in a liquid Row. It was not until 1998
that the first application to a gaseous Row was reported. The only kind of
speckle interferometry that has: been applied to measure velocity fields s
o far is digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI). It was in 1999 that
DSPI was demonstrated both in a liquid and a gaseous flow. (C) 2001 Elsevi
er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.