Using a simplified ripple tank and video analysis to visualise and quantify the Doppler effect

Abstract

Abstract This study presents an experimental method that illustrates and quantifies the Doppler-effect phenomenon. Two stages of the experimental process were carried out. First, a simplified ripple tank was used to depict the Doppler effect, and the whole experiment was recorded by a digital camera. Second, video analyses of the recorded experiment were conducted to quantify the Doppler effect. The experiment showed (a) that the Doppler-shift waves can be visualised clearly using the simplified ripple tank, and (b) that the observed number of waves in such an experiment is consistent with the theoretically expected number, with an error rate of less than 5%. This study proves that using a video-recorded ripple tank experiment to teach and learn the phenomenon of the Doppler effect can be highly efficient, because the method provides clear visualisation and accurate quantification of the Doppler effect.