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Doppler shift

Although the speed of light does not change with relative velocity, the frequencies and wavelengths of light do. First discussed for sound waves, a Doppler shift occurs in any wave when there is relative motion between source and observer.

Relativistic doppler effects

The observed wavelength of electromagnetic radiation is longer (called a red shift) than that emitted by the source when the source moves away from the observer and shorter (called a blue shift) when the source moves towards the observer.

obs s 1 + u c 1 u c . size 12{λ rSub { size 8{"obs"} } ital "=λ" rSub { size 8{s} } sqrt { { {1+ { {u} over {c} } } over {1 - { {u} over {c} } } } } } {}

In the Doppler equation, λ obs size 12{λ rSub { size 8{"obs"} } } {} is the observed wavelength, λ s size 12{λ rSub { size 8{s} } } {} is the source wavelength, and u size 12{u} {} is the relative velocity of the source to the observer. The velocity u size 12{u} {} is positive for motion away from an observer and negative for motion toward an observer. In terms of source frequency and observed frequency, this equation can be written

f obs =f s 1 u c 1 + u c . size 12{f rSub { size 8{"obs"} } ital "=f" rSub { size 8{s} } sqrt { { {1 - { {u} over {c} } } over {1+ { {u} over {c} } } } } } {}

Notice that the – and + signs are different than in the wavelength equation.

Career connection: astronomer

If you are interested in a career that requires a knowledge of special relativity, there’s probably no better connection than astronomy. Astronomers must take into account relativistic effects when they calculate distances, times, and speeds of black holes, galaxies, quasars, and all other astronomical objects. To have a career in astronomy, you need at least an undergraduate degree in either physics or astronomy, but a Master’s or doctoral degree is often required. You also need a good background in high-level mathematics.

Calculating a doppler shift: radio waves from a receding galaxy

Suppose a galaxy is moving away from the Earth at a speed 0.825 c . It emits radio waves with a wavelength of 0 . 525 m size 12{0 "." "525"" m"} {} . What wavelength would we detect on the Earth?

Strategy

Because the galaxy is moving at a relativistic speed, we must determine the Doppler shift of the radio waves using the relativistic Doppler shift instead of the classical Doppler shift.

Solution

  1. Identify the knowns. u= 0 . 825 c size 12{ ital "u="0 "." "825"c} {} ; λ s = 0 . 525 m size 12{λ rSub { size 8{s} } =0 "." "525"`m} {}
  2. Identify the unknown. λ obs size 12{λ rSub { size 8{"obs"} } } {}
  3. Choose the appropriate equation. λ obs s 1 + u c 1 u c size 12{λ rSub { size 8{"obs"} } ital "=λ" rSub { size 8{s} } sqrt { { {1+ { {u} over {c} } } over {1 - { {u} over {c} } } } } } {}
  4. Plug the knowns into the equation.
    λ obs = λ s 1 + u c 1 u c = ( 0.525 m ) 1 + 0 . 825 c c 1 0 . 825 c c = 1.70 m.

Discussion

Because the galaxy is moving away from the Earth, we expect the wavelengths of radiation it emits to be redshifted. The wavelength we calculated is 1.70 m, which is redshifted from the original wavelength of 0.525 m.

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The relativistic Doppler shift is easy to observe. This equation has everyday applications ranging from Doppler-shifted radar velocity measurements of transportation to Doppler-radar storm monitoring. In astronomical observations, the relativistic Doppler shift provides velocity information such as the motion and distance of stars.

Suppose a space probe moves away from the Earth at a speed 0 . 350 c size 12{0 "." "350"c} {} . It sends a radio wave message back to the Earth at a frequency of 1.50 GHz. At what frequency is the message received on the Earth?

Answer

f obs =f s 1 u c 1 + u c = ( 1 . 50 GHz ) 1 0 . 350 c c 1 + 0 . 350 c c = 1 . 04 GHz size 12{f rSub { size 8{"obs"} } ital "=f" rSub { size 8{s} } sqrt { { {1 - { {u} over {c} } } over {1+ { {u} over {c} } } } } = \( 1 "." "50 GHz" \) sqrt { { {1 - { {0 "." "350" ital " c"} over {c} } } over {1+ { {0 "." "350" ital " c"} over {c} } } } } =1 "." "04 GHz"} {}
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Test prep for ap courses

What happens when velocities comparable to the speed of light are involved in an observation?

  1. Newton’s second law of motion, F = m a , governs the motion of the object.
  2. Newton’s second law of motion, F = m a , no longer governs the dynamics of the object.
  3. Such velocities cannot be determined mathematically.
  4. None of the above
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Practice Key Terms 3

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics for ap® courses. OpenStax CNX. Nov 04, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11844/1.14
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