Astrophysics And Cosmology Flashcards
Define a planet
A body with mass sufficient for its own gravity to force it to take a spherical shape, where no nuclear fusion occurs, and the body has cleared its orbit of most other objects
Define a dwarf planet
A planet where the orbit has not been cleared of other objects
Define a planetary satellite
A body in orbit around a planet
Define an asteroid
A body which is too small and uneven in shape to be a planet, with a near circular orbit around the sun
Define a comet
A small, irregularly sized ball of rock, dust, and ice. It orbits the sun in eccentric elliptical orbits
Define a solar system
A system containing stars and orbiting bodies like planets
Define a galaxy
A collection of stars and interstellar dust, and gas. Each galaxy contains around 100 billion stars
How do stars form?
- over millions of years, the gravitational attraction between dust and gas particles pulls them together to form clouds called nebulae
- as they come closer together, the gravitational collapse accelerates, and some regions become denser and pull in more dust and gas
- the gravitational potential energy of the particles is converted to kinetic energy, and as the moving particles collide the temperature increases. This results in a sphere of very hot, dense dust and gas called a protostar
- for a star to form, the temperature and pressure must be high enough for hydrogen gas nuclei in the protostar to overcome the electrostatic forces of repulsion and undergo nuclear fusion
- this nuclear fusion turns hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei, and gives off a lot of heat, energy and light, leading to the emergence of a star
State and explain how the main phase of a star varies with its size
Larger stars are hotter, and so undergo fusion faster, using up available hydrogen nuclei more quickly. This means they have a shorter main phase than smaller stars
What happens to keep a star stable during its main phase?
During the main phase of a star the gravitational force of particles is balanced by radiation pressure from photons emitted in fusion and gas pressure from nuclei in the core
What does solar mass (M) refer to?
The mass of our sun’s core
Describe and explain the evolution of a low mass star
- once the hydrogen supplies are low, the gravitational forces overcome the radiation and gas pressures, so the star begins to collapse inwards. It evolves into a red giant
- the core of the red giant is too cool for helium to fuse, but the pressure in the outer shell is great enough for fusion to occur there
- as helium nuclei run low, the red giant evolves into a white dwarf. The outer shells begin to drift off into space as a planetary nebula, and the core remains as a very dense white dwarf
- a white dwarf star has no remaining fuel for nuclear fusion and so becomes cooler and cooler until eventually it becomes too faint to detect. It is now referred to as a black dwarf
Compare the characteristics of a low mass star and a massive star
- low mass stars have a mass between 0.5M and 10M, whereas massive stars have a mass exceeding 10M
- low mass stars have a smaller, cooler core
- low mass stars remain in the main sequence for longer
- low mass stars eventually evolve into red giants, then into white dwarfs, and finally black dwarfs
- massive stars evolve into red supergiants, then either a neutron star or a black hole depending on mass of the remaining core
Describe and explain the evolution of a massive star
- as hydrogen supplies deplete, radiation pressure from nuclear fusion reduces and the gravitational forces cause the core to collapse slightly
- as the core collapses, temperature and kinetic energy of helium nuclei increase sufficiently to overcome electrostatic forces of repulsion and undergo fusion
- this causes the star to expand, leading to the formation of a red supergiant
- the core fuses increasingly heavy elements to form layers, until an iron core is formed
- iron cannot fuse, so once this core is formed the star becomes unstable. Gravitational forces exceed the forces of radiation and gas pressure and the outer layers are forced inwards. They bounce of the iron core and explode outwards in type 2 supernova, in which elements heavier than iron are formed
- this leaves behind an inert iron core
- if the remaining core mass is greater than 1.44M, protons and electrons combine to form neutrons. This produces an extremely small, dense neutron star
- if the remaining core mass is greater than 3M, the gravitational forces are so strong that the escape velocity of the core is greater than the speed of light. This is a black hole, which even photons cannot escape
State the characteristics and explain the stability of a white dwarf
- a white dwarf has a temperature of around 30000K, and no fusion occurs
- photons which were produced earlier in the evolution leak out, dissipating heat
- as the star collapses, electron degeneracy pressure prevents the core from collapsing
- as long as the core mass is below 1.44M, then the white dwarf star is stable. This is the Chandrasekhar limit
State the characteristics of electron energy levels
- electrons bound to an atom can only exist in certain discrete energy levels
- the electrons cannot have an energy value that is between two levels
- each element has its own set of energy levels
- all energy level values are negative, with the ground state being the most negative
- an electron that is completely free from an atom has energy equal to 0
- the negative sign is used to represent the energy required to be inputted to remove the electron from the atom
Explain how electrons can move between energy levels
When an electron moves from a lower energy state to a higher energy state, it is ‘excited’. This requires the input of external energy, e.g heat, absorption of a photon. When an electron is de-excited, it moves towards the ground state. It releases energy in the form of a photon with a specific wavelength. Electrons can only be excited to the other discrete energy levels for that element
What are emission line spectra?
Each element produces a unique emission line spectrum because of the unique set of energy levels associated with its electrons. It appears as a series of coloured lines on a black background
What are continuous line spectra?
When all visible wavelengths of light are present. They are produced by atoms of solid heated metals
What are absorption line spectra?
A series of dark spectral lines against the background of the continuous spectrum, with each line corresponding to a wavelength of light used to excite atoms of that element. The dark lines are at the same wavelength as the coloured lines produced when the atoms are de-excited
