Chapter 14 Flashcards
What is Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction?
It’s a process in which an object’s temperature increases due to the compression of its interior gases
What were the two processes proposed to be the source of the Sun’s energy?
- Chemical Reaction
2. Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction
What is the source of the Sun’s energy?
Thermonuclear fusion reactions
How does a thermonuclear fusion reaction occur?
Hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form helium nuclei
What does Einstein’s mass-energy equation govern?
The amount of energy that is produced during the nuclear fusion reactions
What’s Einstein’s mass-energy equation?
E = mc^2
What does “mc” in e=mc^2 stand for?
Missing mass x the speed of light
What type of process will convert mass into energy?
Thermonuclear fusion reaction
Why was Einstein’s mass-energy relation used to explain the energy source of the Sun?
It is the only one that can account for the amount of energy that the Sun produces and the duration the Sun has been this way
What are the conditions that need to be satisfied in order to have thermonuclear reactions?
- High temperature
2. High pressure
What is another name for hydrogen nuclei?
Protons
Why does there need to be a high temperature in order to have thermonuclear reactions?
The higher temperature makes protons move faster, which means that when they run into each other they are going to fuse instead of repeal
What are two other names for thermonuclear hydrogen fusion reactions?
Proton-proton chain and hydrogen burning
What is the difference between nuclear reactions and chemical reactions?
Chemical reactions only affect electrons while nuclear reactions affect the nucleus and change its identity
What is fission?
It’s when you split heavier elements into lighter elements
What is the method that nuclear reactors utilize in order to generate energy?
Fission
What is the disadvantage of fission?
It produces a large amount of radioactive nuclear waste
What is fusion?
It’s when you combine lighter elements to produce heavier elements
What is considered the purest form of energy?
Fusion
True or False:
Fusion produce nuclear waste
False
What is the main product of the thermonuclear fusion inside the Sun?
Helium nucleus
What are the by-products of the thermonuclear fusion inside the Sun?
Neutrinos and gamma radiation
What are neutrinos?
They are subatomic particles that have no charge and very little mass
True or False:
Detecting neutrinos is very difficult
True