Abstract
An experiment has been performed to measure the quadratic Doppler shift, , predicted by the special theory of relativity. A moving beam of radiating hydrogen atoms with velocities ranging up to 2.8 × 108 cm/sec has been viewed from the incoming and outgoing directions simultaneously. Averaging wavelength measurements of a particular spectral line for the two observations gives a measurement of the quadratic shift. The number in the theoretically predicted exponent can be compared to the experimental results. The latter gives the value of this exponent to be 0.498 ± 0.025. The predominant factor leading to the experimental uncertainty is the width of the spectral lines involved in the measurement.
© 1962 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
R. Clark Jones
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 29(8) 337-339 (1939)
M. H. Rice and R. H. Good
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(3) 239-246 (1962)
D. H. Rank, B. S. Rao, P. Sitaram, A. F. Slomba, and T. A. Wiggins
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(9) 1004-1009 (1962)