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Doppler shift

Doppler shift

1 6.5
A change in sound pitch or light colour when the source and observer move
  • noun
  • /ˈdɑːplər ʃɪft/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desplazamiento Doppler
  • When an ambulance approaches with its siren on, the change in sound frequency is an example of the Doppler shift.
  • measuring the Doppler shift
  • determines the Doppler shift
  • Doppler shift of spectral lines

And that's the way to calculate the Doppler shift.

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Examples

  • The relative intensity of the light from the two wings is a measure of the Doppler shift of the solar spectrum line with respect to the laboratory.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The Doppler shifts of radio emission lines track interstellar matter in motion.

    Academic text (1996)
  • All stars exhibit some Doppler shift because all stars are moving in the gravitational field.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The change in wavelength due to motion is known as the Doppler shift.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Based on the Doppler shift of the returned echo, the water velocity can be mapped as a function of its position.

    Academic text (2004)
  • And crucially, they've been shown to have a red shift or a Doppler shift that meant that they were moving away from us.

  • We detect planets in solar systems by observing the Doppler shift on the parent stars, or noticing transits.

    Blog text (29)
  • By analyzing the Doppler shifts, scientists can determine the plasma's rotation speed on either side of Jupiter.

    Academic text (2000)
  • But to jump from this fact to the concept of the expanding universe, cosmologists have made a crucial assumption: that the redshift is a Doppler shift, representing motion away from us rather than some other physical effect.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The Algols are also classified as spectroscopic binaries, since we can discern the presence of two stars from the cyclic Doppler shifts in the wavelengths of their spectral lines.

    Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

Doppler
vsDoppler shift
  • Specialized
13 6.9

A change in the frequency of waves when the source or observer moves

describes the physical change itself rather than being just the name
Doppler effect
vsDoppler shift
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A change in sound or light you notice when the thing making it and you move

is the specific technical term for that same change

How Shifted

redshift
  • Specialized
4 8.6
Doppler shift
  • Specialized
1 6.5

Surface Forms

Doppler shift singular

Morphology

Doppler + shift

Given the provided definitions, 'Doppler' names the phenomenon of frequency change with motion and 'shift' means a change; combined, the phrase transparently denotes a change in observed frequency or wavelength caused by relative motion. Although this is a technical, eponymous term, its meaning is compositionally clear and mirrors equivalent constructions in other languages, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Doppler shift comes from a simple sound image: imagine an ambulance siren that sounds higher as it comes toward you and lower as it moves away. That shift in pitch is the same idea for waves, so Doppler shift means a 'change in frequency or wavelength' when the source and the observer move.