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From: ran@ho95e.UUCP (RANeinast)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: Re: Accelerating elevator
Message-ID: <1132@ho95e.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Nov-86 14:44:27 EST
Article-I.D.: ho95e.1132
Posted: Fri Nov 14 14:44:27 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Nov-86 00:11:28 EST
References: <1388@trwrb.UUCP> <546@mcgill-vision.UUCP> <1167@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 26

> Hey, here's a fairly interesting question! What happens to the background
> black-body radiation when you start moving faster? Obviously, it gets
> doppler shifted.  What does the distribution of radiation with wavelength
> look like? Is it still a black-body curve?

> All sorts of interesting questions with this one!

> 				-Bob Myers

A Doppler shifted blackbody curve (actually, it can be shifted by
any "geometric" means, such as gravitational redshift) is another
blackbody curve, but with a new temperature shifted exactly as
the frequencies are shifted.  This means that if you look ahead of
you, you will see a blackbody curve for a higher temperature,
and if you look behind, you will see a blackbody curve for a lower
temperature.

This directional anisotropy (although quite small) has been detected
in the background 3 degree radiation, and is generally interpreted
as the cumulative (from motion about the sun, center of galaxy,
galactic group) speed of the earth relative to the original big bang.
-- 

". . . and shun the frumious Bandersnatch."
Robert Neinast (ihnp4!ho95c!ran)
AT&T-Bell Labs