Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021-resit/6/solution
Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford 2021 resit 6 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Take positive velocity towards , and interpret as the emitted frequency in the probe's rest frame. The relativistic velocity-addition formula gives the probe's station-frame velocity:For reception at the station, photons propagate backwards while the probe recedes. The longitudinal relativistic Doppler effect givesBefore the probe overtakes , their separation decreases. The probe's velocity in 's inertial frame isThe approaching-source relativistic Doppler effect therefore givesAn independent frame calculation gives the same result: forward photons have station-frame frequency , and a receiver moving at measures . If reception occurs after the probe passes , backwards photons instead give . The direction of propagation and the reception geometry are essential to choosing the Doppler factor.
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