Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 13:23:16 -0700
Message-Id: <v01520d00b164ee03407c@[192.168.1.201]>
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
From: mafifi@redshift.com (Marc Afifi)
Subject: RE: relativity
Hi Gary,
Join the club. I am finishing up my unit on relativity as we speak and my
students have stumped me several times with some great questions. I would
approach your question about the doppler shift with an analogy to sound. If
I am driving in my car and honk the horn I do not notice a shift in
frequency because I am in the car's reference frame. On the other hand, if
I am on the side of the road and a honking car drives past, voila, a
doppler shift because we are in different reference frames. Since in the
Michelson-Morley experiment the observer is in the reference frame of the
light source there should be no observed doppler shift. On the other hand,
an observer in a different frame of reference would observe a doppler shift
because there would then be relative motion between the observer and the
light source. Of course, as with all my answers, caveat emptor.
Hope this helps.
-Marc
-- Marc Afifi Physics and Chemistry Pacific Grove High School 615 Sunset Dr. Pacific Grove, CA, 93950(408) 646-6590 ext. 223
Favorite Oakland Raiders Motto: "Just When Baby?"