Doppler effect

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Due to the Doppler effect, a fire truck's siren gets higher-pitched as it travels closer and sounds lower-pitched as it drives farther away.

From Science Daily • May 23, 2024

Their speeds would be carefully calibrated to create different layers of the Doppler effect, or the bending in a note that we perceive when sound passes us by.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024

Sometimes I go to sleep to the bizarre Doppler effect of planes that sound as if they’re about to crash into my house.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2023

They emit light at specific wavelengths, which the gases’ swirling motion smears into “broad emission lines” through the Doppler effect.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 25, 2023

Indeed, the police make use of the Doppler effect to measure the speed of cars by measuring the wavelength of pulses of radio waves reflected off them.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking