- #1
MissSilvy
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Homework Statement
What sort of frequency shift does a rocket ship traveling along the x-axis as some speed close to c observe when it passes directly over a light source emitting photon on the y-axis (so when the angle between them is 90 degrees). At this angle, the rocket is neither approaching the source nor receding from it... is the photon redshifted, blueshifted, or unshifted in this case?
Homework Equations
f'/f = 1-[tex]\beta[/tex]cos([tex]\theta[/tex])/[tex]\sqrt{1-\beta}[/tex]2
The Attempt at a Solution
Intuitively, I guess that there would be no shift, since the photon is not moving on the same axis as the spaceship but the equation gives f'/f= 5/3 when I assume beta is 0.8, so the math suggests a redshift. I have a nagging feeling that this has something to do with the time-dilation experienced by the spaceship but I'm not exactly certain why. If anyone could explain why this phenomenon occurs, I'd be very grateful.
[This is a freshman honors mechanics course, so we've done Lorentz transformations, time dilation, and other stuff at a relatively low level.]