TransWikia.com

What would the wavelength be in this Doppler effect example?

Physics Asked on May 29, 2021

I’m trying to understand an example of the Doppler effect. Let’s say we have an object moving at $100 dfrac{text{km}}{text{h}}$ ($27.7 dfrac{text{m}}{text{s}}$) and emitting a frequency of $200 text{Hz}$. Now assume the speed of sound is $340 dfrac{text{m}}{text{s}}$. Since we know that frequency is equal to the speed of sound over the wavelength, wouldn’t the wavelength be $dfrac{340 frac{text{m}}{text{s}}}{200 text{Hz}} = dfrac{340 text{m}}{200} = 1.7 text{m}$? I saw it said that the wavelength would be $3.4 text{m}$, but that doesn’t seem right to me…

One Answer

Not at all, because you completely ignored the Doppler Effect. Since here observer is stationary, sound velocity, being a property of the medium would remain $340 frac{text{m}}{text{s}}$. However, by the time the wave covers the distance of $1$ wavelength, the source has also moved, causing the $mathbf {effective}$ wavelength to become shorter than what would have been had the source been stationary. Mathematically: $$lambda^prime = lambda - vT$$ where $v$ is source velocity and $T$ is time period. This means that: $$f_{text{app}} = frac{c}{c-v} f$$ Here $c$ is sound velocity, and $f$ is original frequency.

Correct answer by Ritam_Dasgupta on May 29, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP