Scribd
Upload
53 views2 pages

Doppler Article

This document summarizes a simple demonstration of the Doppler effect using a Slinky toy. Students can see that the spacing between coils represents the wavelength of sound. When a hand is held stationary in the Slinky, the spacing is uniform. But when the hand is moved, compressing coils in front and stretching them behind, students see that the wavelength is shorter in the direction of motion and longer in the opposite direction. This visual representation reinforces the concept of how motion affects the observed wavelength and frequency of a sound source.

Uploaded by

AARZUNA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
53 views2 pages

Doppler Article

This document summarizes a simple demonstration of the Doppler effect using a Slinky toy. Students can see that the spacing between coils represents the wavelength of sound. When a hand is held stationary in the Slinky, the spacing is uniform. But when the hand is moved, compressing coils in front and stretching them behind, students see that the wavelength is shorter in the direction of motion and longer in the opposite direction. This visual representation reinforces the concept of how motion affects the observed wavelength and frequency of a sound source.

Uploaded by

AARZUNA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/243716256

A visual demo of the Doppler effect

Article  in  The Physics Teacher · September 2010


DOI: 10.1119/1.3479727

CITATIONS READS

0 698

1 author:

Pangratios Papacosta
Columbia College Chicago
22 PUBLICATIONS   19 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Faith and Science View project

Science, Art and Religion View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Pangratios Papacosta on 25 January 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


Erlend H. Graf, Column Editor, Department of Physics & Astronomy,
apparatus for teaching physics Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794; [email protected]

A visual demo of the between two adjacent coils as the wavelength of the sound
signal.
Doppler effect Place the palm of your hand, which will now act as the
sound source, in the middle of the Slinky. This is the case of
Pangratios Papacosta, Columbia College, a stationary source and we note that the coil spacing (wave-
Chicago, IL 60605; [email protected] length) is the same on either side of the source. Now move
your hand toward one end, compressing the Slinky in front of

M ost physics teachers are familiar with the standard


classroom demonstration of the Doppler effect. We
invite students to explain the periodic variation of the pitch
the hand while stretching it behind the hand. Ask the students
to describe what has happened to the size of the wavelength in
front and behind the source (your hand). Students will notice
produced when we swirl a sounding buzzer over our heads. that the spacing between coils is much shorter in the direction
Students are quick to connect this phenomenon to everyday of motion and it has been stretched longer on the other end.
life experiences such as listening to the sound of the siren of a They can now correlate the shortening of the wavelength with
fast-approaching police car or the bell of an approaching train. the pitch getting higher in the Doppler effect and similarly the
In addition to these aural experiences, our understanding of stretching of the wavelength (hence the pitch getting lower)
the Doppler effect can be strengthened with a useful visual when the source is going away. Although this mechanical
metaphor. simulation of the Doppler effect is limited only to situations
The idea is very simple and it requires only a long helical when the source is moving and the observer remains station-
spring (SlinkyTM). Stretch the Slinky along a table or on the ary, it nevertheless provides a visual demonstration that rein-
floor. Invite the students to gather around it so that they can forces the aural experience of the phenomenon. This simple
see and understand the wavelength changes associated with demonstration can also help to explain the Doppler redshift
the Doppler effect. As the Slinky remains stretched, students in the spectrum of galaxies, observed for the first time by Ed-
can see that the spacing between coils is the same everywhere win Hubble in 1929. Hubble’s discovery was the first solid evi-
along its length. We ask students to think of the distance dence of an expanding universe that gave rise to the Big Bang
model in cosmology.

Fig. 1. A stationary sound source: Coil spacing (wavelength) is the same in any direction.

direction of motion of sound source

Fig. 2. Moving sound source: Wavelength is shorter in front of source and longer behind it.

420 The Physics Teacher ◆ Vol. 48, September 2010

View publication stats

You might also like