Kevin Huynh

8.5 Cosmic Engine

By: Kevin Huynh

Class: Saturday Physics Time: 2:45 4:30 p.m. Teacher: Ryan Phung Page 1

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1. Our Sun is just one star in the galaxy and ours is just one galaxy in the Universe

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1.1.1 Outline the historical development of models of the Universe from the time of Aristotle to the time of Newton

Historical development of the Universe

To understand the workings of the universe begins with the ancient Greeks. Then came a time of the Dark Ages (4th 13th century) not much scientific nature happened because of the powerful influence of religion. However, in the 14th century the Europeans brought back the interest and chose to be inspired by the finding of the Greeks. Unfortunately, they were found to be impressed by the ancients who had it wrong. Through time, the argument between the heliocentric and geocentric slowly came to an end as technology became more advanced through time.

Aristotle (Greek Philosopher) (330BC) Geocentric model Used logical cause-effect approach to explain physical events, which led to the proposal of the stationary Earth surrounded by spheres revolving around at different speeds The heavenly system consisted of a spherical Earth, fixed into the center of the universe, surrounded by 55 co-centric transparent spheres where each sphere carried a heavenly body (moons). In its simplest version, there were only 8 such spheres corresponding to the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Co-centric share the same point i.e. the center of the circle. Why transparent? The spheres were transparent solely on Aristotles reasoning that it allowed things further away to be seen Some of the flaws caused by this model is the ability to explain the variations of brightness in accordance to the inner planets. The inner spheres contained moons The outermost spheres contained stars Aristotles work remained unquestioned for nearly another 2000 years. Aristarchus (240BC) Heliocentric model Aristarchus explains that the stars are actually motionless and that the earth rotates on its axis once daily, which correlates to the motions observed in the sky. Annual changes were due to the Earth, with other planets, orbiting the sun. Aristarchus was only able to make this assumption when he measured the size of the sun and found it was larger than Earth. BUT, Aristarchuss work was not recognized by society due to strong influential views of the church. Reasons for rejecting the heliocentric model: (mostly accounted for lack of technology)

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Kevin Huynh 1. There was no observable parallax of the sun and stars if the Earth was actually moving. This was because the vast distance in space could not be seen with the naked eye and so this theory failed (ironically its correct though) What is a parallax? It is the difference in apparent position of an object due to viewing it at different angles. A way to think about this is when we are on a trip. When we look outside the window while travelling, we can look to the ground and it seems that it is moving relatively fast. BUT, as we look further away such as the houses (that are further away) it seems as though it is moving slowly. With the same application, since the stars are too far away, the parallax shift is not recognisable with the human eye.

2. A moving Earth was religiously unacceptable because the strong influence of the church believed that people lived on Earth and hence must be the centre of the universe. 3. It also used a bit of common sense. If the Earth was to move, then wouldnt everything get swept away and rushed through SPACE? No, the Earth appeared to be stationary. Ptolemy (120AD) Geocentric model (Greek-influenced Egypt) Ptolemys model was based more on the reference of frame which suited him. In this case, since the stars are far away, the positions in the sky relative to one another was not observable. The motion of the sun, moon and each of the other planets were explained by a combination of perfect circular paths. The stars were located in the outermost sphere where it rotated around the earth once a day (24 hours) - Ptolemy observed the typical retrograde motion of Mars in the sky. It accounted for the fact that Earth was between the Sun and Mars because it was the only possible position of observe this motion. Ptolemy then came up with some ideas. - The distance between the Earth and deferent is called the eccentric. (Earth was not exactly in the middle) - The epicycle: Planets rotated in smaller circles along the deferent. - The deferent is the path of which planets rotated around the Earth. Figure 3: The equant. The planet (P) revolves around the center of - The equant was an imaginary mathematical point that explained the circle (C) but moves uniformly the observed speed changes. It sees the planet move at a uniform around the center of motion (M). angular speed. It is actually not located in the center of the orbit, The planet goes through each section of the circle in an equal which causes the variations in speed.

Ptolemys work remained unchallenged for the next 14 centuries.

amount of time so it would speed up as it gets farther from M.

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Copernicus (1473-1543) Heliocentric Proposed that the Sun was stationary at the centre of the universe and that everything revolved in circles By using what Ptolemy had found, he continued to use the epicycles and eccentrics to help further improve his model. The main idea of Copernicuss model was: - The lack of parallax shift was due to the immense size of the universe. - Earth orbited the sun once every year and its axis every 24 hours. - The sun is the centre of the heavens and the planets moved around in circular orbits. - This model also easily explained the variations in brightness. Tycho Brahe (1546 1601) Developed a precise astrolabe to help identify the position of those stars within 1/60th of a degree Proposed a compromised model consisting of the geocentric model and heliocentric model In Brahes model: - The sun orbiting the stationary Earth - Other planets orbited the Sun. Tycho Brahe was best remembered for the painstaking work in obtaining data with great accuracy. His data on Mars plays a large contribution towards future discoveries and theories. Tychos student Johannes Kepler continued his work including his complete set on Mars. Galileo (1564 1642) Heliocentric model Highly supported the Copernicus model Galileo developed the telescope to aid his observations. Only then he noticed: - The phases of Venus were much similar to the moon. - The phase of the moon (full, new and crescent) is caused when it illuminates at different angles to Earth. Thus, Galileo realized that Venus was actually orbiting the Sun. This model was consistent with Copernicus and not Ptolemy. - Galileo viewed Jupiter only then discover there were four satellites (or moons) orbiting Jupiter. What he saw was a mini Copernican model. Page 5

Kevin Huynh - Galileo studied the surface of the moon. He observed rough features such as the mountainous tops. - Similarly, while observing the sun he found sunspots on the surface. Moreover, these sunspots were found to move in such a way that Galileo suggested the sun rotated once every 27days. - The traditional views of heavenly bodies were scrapped. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Convinced with the rightness of the heliocentric model Study the motion of Mars and found out that planets orbit in ellipses

Keplers Laws:
1. Law of ellipses Each planet moves in an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. A quantity called e (for eccentricity) indicates the degree of elongation of the orbit. E.g. A round path that has a value of is a circle and for has an elliptical shape. The focus describes the circular shape in this case. In a ellipse, there are two focis and one in a circle (i.e. the center) Comets and most asteroids have highly elongated orbits close to and others travel so fast that it moves in a parabolic path and wont return. Most planets have near-circular orbits, with close to zero. 2. Law of area The line drawn from the Sun to the planet sweeps out area at a constant rate Kepler explained further and realised that the sun must have been one of the focis and the other as unoccupied. The planets do not move at a uniform angular rate about any point. Generally, the closer the planets are to the Sun, the faster they are travelling. Increasing the length of the radius allows angle swept through to decrease and hence the arc length decreases while the area remains the same. It can be represented by the formula:

3. Law of periods The square period (T) of the planets is proportional to the cube of their average distance (Ravg) from the Sun. The law can be mathematically represented by the formula:

All planets revolving around the sun have the same value k. (Note: This formula works for any system of the same object in the centre) Instead of using standard metric units such as meters and seconds we can use astronomical units. Page 6

Kevin Huynh - 1AU (the average distance of earth to the sun) Example: Halley s Comet has an orbital period of 76 years. Calculate the average distance of the comet from the Sun.

Errors in Keplers model: Kepler realised that forces were involved. When the planets neared the sun, it began to speed up so Kepler suggested that there was a tangential force pushing the planets along. The closer to the Sun, the larger the magnitude of this force BUT, force is not required to keep an object in motion in space since there is negligible resistance. It was only then that Newton was able to explain the cause. Isaac Newton (1642 1727) Supported the heliocentric model The heliocentric model had become more acceptable but it needed an explanation to what kept the planets in orbit. After pondering, Newton recognized the earthly force that attracted objects to fall on the ground was a force that applied between all objects in the universe. He called it Universal gravitation. There are two distinct steps in Newtons argument. Newton argued, from Keplers law of areas, that the force must be central that is acting towards the Sun. Using Keplers law of Periods, he showed that the force is inversely proportional to distance squared and force is also proportional to the masses of the objects.

( ) ( ( ) ( )

Example Calculate the force due to gravity between yourself and the person next to you.

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1.2.1 Assess one of the models of the Universe developed from the time of Aristotle to the time of Newton to identify limitations placed on the development of the model by the technology available at the time
An ideal answer should include: Early models were limited by technology available at the time to aid observations. Scientists were very reliant on logic. A reference to the geocentric model in the earlier days (there was not much evidence to argue this model especially because of observing equipment) Talks about the parallax shift If the heliocentric model were correct, then through logic, would not the stars (such as the sun) have appeared to be moving. Due to the lack of the observable parallax shift, the geocentric model was in favor only because of the vast distances that affect the parallax shift which cannot be observed by the naked eye. With no sense of the astronomical distances in space, only with the technology of a large telescope could prove the long believed geocentric model.

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2. The first minutes of the Universe released energy which changed to matter, forming stars and galaxies

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2.1.1 Outline the discovery of the expansion of the Universe by Hubble, following its earlier prediction by Friedmann

Albert Einstein
In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed the Special Theory of Relativity, which stated that the speed of light is a constant in the whole universe. This resulted in the relationship of:

( ) This equation indicated that energy and mass are simply interchangeable The General Theory of Relativity is a mathematical theory that predicted the universe is not static and is either expanding or contracting. It introduced time as the 4th dimension of what was called space-time. However, Einstein disagreed with his own prediction and attempted to solve the problem himself by modifying his equation. He introduced a cosmological constant as a static universe as he believed it to be. This was later shown incorrect as observations made by Hubble confirmed an expanding universe.

Alexander Friedmann
In 1922, a Russian mathematician proposed that the universe was expanding. This was proposed solely on Einsteins equation after ignoring the cosmological constant. Friedmann also realized the fate of the universe depended on the amount of matter present in the universe. 1. The Big CRUNCH theory: - If the density of the material is great enough then gravity will eventually stop the expansion of the universe and draw it back in again. 2. The open universe: - When the density of material is insufficient to slow the expansion of the universe and will continue to expand 3. Flat Universe: - When matter is at a critical level; in this case the expansion continues to expand at a decreasing rate until time reaches infinity and the universe would have stopped.

Edwin Hubble (1889 1953)

While studying the nebulae Hubble noticed a pulsating star in the Andromeda nebula. By calculating its distance, he found that Andromeda was actually 800 000 light years away which was far beyond most distant stars known Rather than being a gaseous object in our galaxy, Hubble was able to show that this was another galaxy. The Doppler Effect: - Definition: The change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source - If the source of the object is stationary, there is no change in pitch. Once moving, the waves at the front of the source are compressed. This decreases wavelength causing a higher pitch. - Behind the source, the wave is stretched thus wavelength is increased. Hence a lower pitch is produced. Page 10

Kevin Huynh With the same application, we can apply this to EM waves and instead of using pitch, we can use the spectral colours to identify its wavelength.

The red shift: Hubble discovered the red shift in 1929. He had access to the most powerful optical telescope of all time The Mount Wilson 100-inch Hooker Telescope. The expansion of the universe became apparent because each star and galaxy possessed a degree of red shift in them. This produced the first evidence to support Friedmanns model of an expanding universe. The movement speed of galaxies is determined by the amount of red shift. Hubble observed galaxies that are far more distant and found them to be more red-shifted. This led to Hubbles law where galaxies are receding at an increasing rate. Spectral lines A spectroscope is used to examine light from a source such as a light bulb that produces a continuous spectrum of colours (similar to stars) Spectral lines are produced by the wavelengths that have been absorbed by the atmosphere. When observing far away objects we see that the spectral lines have shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. Thus, it is evident that the stretching of space causes the cosmological red shift. NOTE! This does not mean the galaxy or star is actually red or blue (if blue shifted) The Hubble Constant Describes the rate at which distant galaxies are moving away Hubble discovered the recessional velocity (v) of a galaxy is proportional to its distance (d) from us. i.e. a galaxy twice as far away will be receding twice the speed. This is an agreement to Einsteins Theory of General Relativity which predicts that the expansion will look the same from any point in space. The mathematical relationship can be written as:

( (

( ) ) (this constant changes over time) )

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2.1.2 Describe the transformation of radiation into matter, which followed the Big Bang. + 2.1.4. Outline how the accretion of galaxies and stars occurred.
In 1930, physicists had agreed on the idea of the universe not being static it is constantly expanding. They concluded that the universe must have started out as something much smaller. In 1948, George Gamow proposed the first theory about the origins of the universe.

The big bang theory

Singularity The universe began with a single tiny point of energy. It had extremely high temperatures, density and pressure. Space, matter and time did not exist. The universe exploded and expanded from that single point, releasing immense amounts of energy that cooled. It was then possible that some of the energy turned into matter. Recombination Initially some energy was transformed into the very basic fundamental particles. These are the electrons and quarks (in general). Quarks the building blocks of protons and neutrons. Three quarks is required to create a proton or neutron. This process carried out is known as recombination. It would take the next few hundred thousand years until the universe cooled sufficiently for electrons, protons and neutrons to form. The first atoms created would have been hydrogen. Radiation released Over the next half a million years, the universe went into a pause mode. No complex nuclei were formed and all matter existed as individual particles. As the universe reached to 4000kelvin, it was now ideal for protons and electrons to form the first atoms. Question? If the whole universe was one temperature, then how come galaxies and stars formed at some spots and not others? Tiny variations in the cosmic background radiation shows the different densities to cause gravitational pull on matter. The large amount of radiation released during the process still exist today. It is known as the Cosmic background Radiation. (discovered in 1964) Accretion As the universe was expanding and cooling, particles lost kinetic energy and began to attract other nearby materials and gain mass. This formed regions of high mass and density. This process is called accretion. Due to accretion, matter in the universe formed discrete gas clouds known as protogalaxies. The continuation of this process will lead up to a galaxies and stars being formed. To this day, our universe continues to expand (14 billion years later) at a rate according to Hubbles constant.

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Stars -A huge mass of gas held together by its own gravity with a very high core temperature which initiates
nuclear fusion reactions. Stars form from local condensation of gases and dust (or protogalaxy). A disturbance in these gas particles can cause a lager mass of gas to form and attract further surrounding gases. The gases condense progressively which at the same time gravitational potential energy is being converted into heat. High enough temperatures were able to induce reactions in the gas clouds. Nuclear fission: The splitting of a large nucleus into a smaller nuclei. Nuclear fusion: The combining of two (or more) small nucleus to form a larger nucleus which releases a large amount of energy. The gas clouds have an uneven weightdensity distribution throughout space allowing it to clump to attain mass via gravity. The core contracts under gravity while the heat created produces an outward pressure that works against gravity, BUT only slightly. Eventually, the core gets hotter, building outward pressure and eventually immobilizing the collapse of the star. The stars core is now stable. This process takes about 1 million years.

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2.1.3 Identify that Einstein described the equivalent of energy and mass
In 1905, Einstein showed in the special theory of relativity that E = mc2, so establishing the equivalence of mass and energy. It meant that energy could be formed from mass and mass can be produced from energy. Einsteins Special theory of relativity was not consistent with Newtons Law of universal Gravitation hence produced the General theory of relativity. This theory included factors of gravity The theory explained: - The planets are actually moving forward but in orbits is due to the ability of large masses (such as our sun) to warp space-time. - The theory predicts that even light rays can be affected by warped space-time and should curl around stars. This is called gravitational lensing - Predicts that time runs slower near an object as large as a planet.

2.2.1 Identify data sources and gather secondary information to describe the probable origins of the universe
Evidence that shown the Universe was expanding would help support the Big Bang Theory. Freidmanns modification to Einsteins cosmological constant allowed him to deduce that Universe was actually not static hence the origins of the universe would have started from a single point. Hubbles calculations of the red-shift supported the expanding universe. By measuring the degreeof redshift, Hubble was able to determine the rate at which galaxies were moving away. His law stated The further away a galaxy is, the greater its speed away from us. Much like a balloon, the universe would have started from a point in space and expanded to cause this movement of galaxies and stars. The cosmic background radiation provided further evidence in the expanding universe. The big bang theory suggested that after the initial explosion, the temperature would have kept dropping as the Universe expanded. The cosmic background radiation depicted small temperature variations which in turn also shows different densities in space. This was vital for the birth of planets, stars, galaxies etc. because if the universe was uniform, gravity could not take place. Hence the big bang would have shown some signs of radiation i.e. the cosmic background radiation. The amount helium in the Universe also provides evidence of the Big bang theory. We know that stars are converting hydrogen in helium, but young stars also have a lot of helium in them. The production of helium as soon as protons and neutrons were formed is predicted by the big bang theory. This explains why 25% of the universe in helium.

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3. Stars have a limited life span and may explode to form supernovas

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3.1.1 Define the relationship between the temperature of a body and the dominant wavelength of the radiation emitted from that body

Temperature and colour

We note that stars have different colours To find the conncection between temperature and and dominant wavelength we use a black body

Black body An ideal black body is absorbs all the energy it receives and reemit all the energy. EM waves produced is entirely dependent on the temperature The intensity Vs wavelength graph of the EM wave is plotted at different temperatures. As temperature increased intensity is increased. However, the dominant wavelength would shift towards shorter wavelengths as temperature was increased.

Wiens law

( ) ( )

3.1.2 Identify that the surface temperature of a star is related to its colour
Just like the above, the amount of energy being radiated from a star is related to the wavelength of the EMRs its emitting. For light, shorter wavelengths correspond to colours such as blue and violet while longer wavelengths correspond to reds and orange.

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Kevin Huynh Cooler stars at 3000K emit far more red and yellow light. Stars with 5800K, including our sun, emit most green and yellow light. We only view yellow because we see that the blue light has been scattered over the atmosphere and so when blue is eliminated from green we get yellow. Temperatures of 10000K > produce blue and more violet colours.

3.1.3 Describe a Hertzsprung- Russell diagram as the graph of a stars luminosity against its colour or surface temperature.
The Hertzsprung diagram is a graph of a stars luminosity against its surface colour and surface temperature. 1911: Ejnar Hertzsprung plotted the luminosity versus surface temperature of all strars for which the data were known. 1913: American Astronomer Henry Russell also came to the same conclusion independently. The H-R diagram is important as it allows astronomers to classify stars and further understand its evolution.

3.1.4 Identify energy sources characteristics of each star group, including Main sequence, red giants and white dwarfs.

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Kevin Huynh Star Main Sequence

Fuel

Red Giant

White Dwarf

Are generally fuelled by the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium. It relies on the proton-proton chain which involves no catylyst. When the hydrogen depletes, the star progressively produces less energy until not being able to hold up itself. In the situation of limited supply of hydrogen, the star begin to resort for triple alpha reaction, which is basically the combining of two helium nucleis. Produces alpha radiation. Have no nuclear reactions occurring. They are collapsed. Radiate heat into space and cool to become black dwarfs.

3.2.1 Gather secondary sources to relate brightness of an object to its luminosity and distance. 3.2.2. Solve problems to apply the inverse square law of intensity of light to relate the brightness of a star to its luminosity.
Brightness: The amount of energy received per square meter per second. (Watts) Luminosity: Energy radiated by an object per second. (J/sec/m2 or W/m2)

E.g. 1 The sun away from Earth was observed to have a luminosity of a. What is the perceived brightness as viewed by an observer on Earth?

( ) Brightness is related luminosity by the inverse square law.

b. What is the perceived beightness as viewed by a satellite which is three times further away from the sun than that of the earth.

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4. The sun is a typical star, emitting electromagnetic radiation and particles that influence the Earth

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4.1.1 Identify that energy may be released from the nuclei of atoms.
Stars fuse together to form a larger nuclei and release energy. However, not all large nuclei formed are stable. These unstable nuclei release particles and energy until they become stable. These unstable larger nuclei are said to be radioactive. These main types of radioactive particles are: - Alpha - Beta - And Gamma

4.1.2 Describe the nature of emissions from the nuclei of atoms as radiation of alpha, beta particles and gamma rays.

Alpha

Ionising power High

Penetration Very low

Beta

Low

Low

Gamma

Very Low

Very high

Magnetic field Up, when magnetic field is into the page Down, when magnetic field is into the page No effect

Electric field Attracted to negative Attracted to positive No effect

The nature of each particle: Alpha: Helium nucleus consisting of two protons. Beta: Fast moving electrons Gamma: Uncharged high energy and freaqency electromagnetic radiation.

4.1.3 Identify the nature of emissions reaching the Earth from the Sun.
The sun emits large amounts of EMR, as well as streams of trillions high energy ioni8sed particles, known as the solar wind each second. These emission come from the corona or specifically corona holes.

4.1.4 Describe the particulate nature of the solar wind

The pressure difference between the corona and vaccum causes an outflow of material from the corona. The low-density, hot plasma of the corona streams out reaching other planets. They contain mostly helium and other ions. The wind is able to induce a magnetic field. As it passes through Earth, the Earths magnetic field traps it and forms doughnut shaped regions. Known as the Van Allen Belts.

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4.1.5 Outline the cyclic nature of sunspot activity and its impact on Earth through solar wind 4.1.6 Describe sunspots as representing regions of strong magnetic activity and low temperature
Sunspot: Cooler regions on the suns surface that appears black. They possess very strong magnetic field. The sun goes through an 11 year cycle of high and low levels of sunspot activity. There is also a periodic variation in solar wind activity every 27 days (period of the suns rotation) There are about 100 sunspots during its peak cycle. Effect and cause: At the peak of the sunspot cycle, solar flares are produced Solar flare: a sudden explosion of hot material that bursts thousands of kilometres from the Suns surface. They can last for a few minutes to hours. They emit large amounts of radiation (UV, X-ray, visible) Solar flares can cause a major disrupt in satellite communication and electrical components. This is because the fluctuation of the magnetic field of the earth, caused by the solar flare, affects radio communication and power grids. Solar flare actually intensifies the solar wind.

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