Doppler effect

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Waves caused by a moving object cause a doppler effect
Waves caused by a moving object cause a doppler effect

doppler effect is a change in frequency and wavelength of a wave. It is caused by the change in distance between the thing creating the wave and whatever is measuring, seeing or hearing the wave.

[edit] Effects of changes in distance

As the distance gets smaller, the wavelength gets shorter and the frequency gets higher.

As the distance get longer the frequency gets lower and the wavelength gets longer.

  • For light, this causes a shift towards the red end of the spectrum.
  • For sound, this causes the sound to become lower in pitch.