Sound waves and speed of it in different reference frames

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
4 replies · 2K views
physics user1
Think at a cop car with a siren that moves with a velocity Vc, it emits a sound with a velocity C

Now think about a person that doesn't move, in front of the cop car, shouldn't he register that the speed of the sound emited is Vs= Vc+ C?

According to the galileian equations (true for v <<c light)

x= x' + Vc t (distance done by the sound wave according to the guy in front of the cop car)
x'= Ct (distance done by the sound wave according to the cop car frame of reference)

x= (C+ Vc) t

d/dt x = d/dt [ (C+Vc) t]

Vs= C + Vc

Is that correct? Does the speed of the wave change with the frame of reference?

Is because of that that the frequency changes? (Doppler effect)
 
on Phys.org
Cozma Alex said:
Now think about a person that doesn't move, in front of the cop car, shouldn't he register that the speed of the sound emited is Vs= Vc+ C?
No.

Realize that the speed of sound is C with respect to its medium, the air. So a person at rest with respect to the air will measure the speed of the sound as C.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: physics user1
Doc Al said:
No.

Realize that the speed of sound is C with respect to its medium, the air. So a person at rest with respect to the air will measure the speed of the sound as C.

and... the cop? Why is he registering the same speed?

Ain't the cop and the person in relative motion?
 
Cozma Alex said:
and... the cop? Why is he registering the same speed?
He's not. Here's the basic formula:
Speed of sound with respect to cop = Speed of sound w.r.t. air + speed of air w.r.t cop = C - Vc.

Cozma Alex said:
Ain't the cop and the person in relative motion?
Definitely.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: physics user1
Basically, it will travel slower relative to the car and the speed of sound relative to the ground
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: physics user1