Last night, I revisited my previously tattered sound behavior-with-Mach 1 relative velocities thought-experiment. On close examination, in exchanges with The Barbarian a few years ago, I found multiple incompatible and non-universal treatments (with unbelieveable formulas)(the ones I could understand and test in less than three weeks).

I Googled around last night and found a discussion encompassing Doppler theory (Ernst Doppler lived then in present-day Czecho-Slovakian orbits) on a physics forum.

One astute-seeming authority brought up the binary star phenomenon relating to Doppler effect. In one theoretical view, the light from the advancing half of the binary star would overtake the light from the receding one, according to some "spin" of faith in relativity. (grin) But, empirically, evidently it doesn't.

"Clearly", to astute and respectable physics "authorities", how/whether we treat "light" as a wave phenomenon, like sound, or as particles just isn't worked out yet. Also, such things as gravitons affecting spatial domains is speculated by some, and "time" possibly being merely a local phenomenon. Time varying relative to local gravitational domains (yet beyond our grasp) is considered.

Angus:"I do, however, confess to permitting myself to harbour the nearly impossible idea that I might myself one day articulate a synthesis of both sides of the debate."

Well, analagously, from these latest respectable and "authoritative" web personality musings, it occurs to me that:

Creationists may be kissing a forward appendage of the "monster" mammoth, while evolutionists who reject higher powers may be fondling/kissing a more posterior, processed vegetation caked appendage, of the same mammoth problem. Meanwhile, the elephant/mammoth has several other appendages that have not been adequately considered/analysed/described to a point of making reliable predictions that could be guaranteed to "always" work.

Summary: I think from my newest insight (last night) that several "Doppler formulas"/theories are required to even begin to cover the waterfront, multiple localised regimes, the different distinctive regimes/scales of physics interactions.

DWAardvark, thinking about going back to college, to one that has an eminent Mach 1 Czech Doppler authority on the faculty.