Dopper Effect in Special Relativity

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the Doppler effect in the context of special relativity, specifically examining a scenario involving a traffic light emitting infrared light and a driver's claim of observing it in the X-ray region. The original poster attempts to calculate the speed of the car based on the observed wavelength shift.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of the Doppler effect formula in special relativity and question the validity of the original poster's calculations. There is a focus on the relationship between frequency and wavelength, and the implications of the speed calculated.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with some participants providing clarifications on the Doppler formula and questioning the original poster's mathematical approach. There is no explicit consensus yet, as participants are exploring different aspects of the problem.

Contextual Notes

There is a mention of the original poster's assumption regarding the speed of the car leading to an unphysical result, suggesting a need to re-evaluate the calculations and assumptions made regarding relativistic effects.

yukcream
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Suppose there is a planet, the traffic law there is~
car should stop if the traffic light in infrared region,i.e wavelength ~10^-5m, otherwise the driver will be fined.
There is a driver claimed that he saw the traffic light still in the X-ray region i.e wavelength ~10^-10m when passing the traffic light so he hadn't violated the law
If possible, what will be the speed of the car~

However, I found it is impossible for the driver to have this dopper shift, as the speed of the car will be about 600c ~

I did in following step:
by the formula of dopper effect for SR
[(1-v/c)/(1+v/c)]^1/2 = L0/L = 10^-5/10^-10where L is the wavelength
L0/L = 10^5
the RHS value is so large~
so I expand the LHS as:

(0.5 - 0.5V/c) (0.5+ 0.5v/c) than I get the value as v~600c!

What's going wrong, can anyone help me!

yukyuk
 
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For one thing, the doppler formula is:
[tex]f = f' \sqrt{\frac{1 + v/c}{1 - v/c}}[/tex]

As far as your expansion, I don't understand what you are doing. (Realize that v/c is not necessarily small compared to 1.)
 
Last edited:
f is stand for frequency here I use wavelength instead~
 
yukcream said:
f is stand for frequency here I use wavelength instead~
You can convert from one to the other: [itex]f = c/\lambda[/itex].
 

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