Today (November 29, 1803) is the birthday of Christian Doppler, the mathematician and physicist who discovered the Doppler Effect on sound.
Christian Andreas Doppler was born on November 29, 1803, in Salzburg,
Austria. His father was a stonemason. He did not carry out his father's
business as he was physically very weak by nature. After completing his higher
education, Doppler studied astronomy and mathematics in Vienna and Salzburg. He
worked at the Prague Polytechnic (now the Czech University of Technology). At
the age of 39, Doppler published a study of coloured light coming from twin
galaxies. This prompted him to discover the Doppler Effect in 1845.
While working as a lecturer in Doppler Czechoslovakia, he published more
than 50 articles on mathematics, physics, mechanics and astronomy. Doppler immigrated
to Vienna in 1848 and was appointed head of the Institute of Physics at the
University of Vienna. Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, was a student in
Vienna from 1851 to 1853. There is a lot of confusion over Doppler's full name.
Doppler claimed his name was Christian Doppler. His birth documents refer to
him as Christian Andreas Doppler. Astronomer Julius Signer mistakenly
introduced his name as Johann Christian Doppler. Many have continued to use his
name ever since.
The phenomenon of a change in the frequency of general sounds with a
correlation between the sound source and the listener is called the Doppler Effect.
Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) - An instrument based on the Doppler Effect
theory. It detects the movement and velocity of submarines and aircraft. How
can a traffic policeman say that he is overspeeding without looking at the
speedometer of our car? How do they predict the speed at which we are going?
This is where the incomparable scientific basis of the Doppler Effect comes
into play. Microwaves are transmitted from the traffic control vehicle to the
fast-moving vehicle. Echo waves from a moving vehicle are sensed with the help
of an analyser in the control vehicle and the speed of the vehicle is
calculated by the displacement of the frequency.
The altitude, speed and distance of the approaching aircraft are
calculated with the help of Doppler displacement obtained by radar at the
airport. Bats have the property of generating ultrasonic. Bats learn the
distance and motion of prey by the Doppler displacement of ultrasonic echoes on
prey and inhibitors. In addition to this unparalleled discovery, Doppler, who
has authored more than 50 articles on mathematics, physics, mechanics, and
astronomy, rose to become president of the Institute of Physics at the
University of Vienna. Doppler died of respiratory failure on March 17, 1853, in
Venice, Italy, at the age of 49.
Source By: Wikipedia
Information: Ramesh, Assistant Professor of Physics, Nehru Memorial
College, Puthanampatti, Trichy.
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