chapter 14 Flashcards
(38 cards)
3.85 x 10^26 watts
sun’s luminosity
- a balance between the outward force due to the pressure of radiation produced inside and the inward force of gravity
- radiation pressure & force of gravity must be just enough to hold up the weight of the sun without collapsing
hydrostatic equilibrium (2)
the short-range force between protons & neutrons that holds atomic nuclei together
strong nuclear force
- the combination of 2 less massive atomic nuclei into a single, more massive atomic nucleus
- 4 hydrogen nuclei become 1 helium nucleus plus energy
nuclear fusion (2)
E = mc^2
exchange rate of mass & energy
the release of energy from the fusion of 4 hydrogen nuclei into a single helium
hydrogen fusion
- the innermost region of a planetary/star interior
- density of matter in the core is 150 times the density of water
- temperature is ~15 million K
- half the energy produced by the sun comes from the inner core
core (4)
- hydrogen-1 →hydrogen-2 + pos e + v, then pos e + neg e → y + y (gamma rays)
- hydrogen-2 + hydrogen-1 → helium-3 + y
- helium-3 + helium-3 → helium-4 + hydrogen-1 + hydrogen- 1
proton-proton chain (3)
- colliding protons create deuterium
- protons collide with deuterium nuclei to produce helium-3
- helium-3 nuclei collide to create helium-4
3 steps of the proton-proton chain (3)
positively charged subatomic particle
positron
- very low-mass, electrically neutral particle emitted during beta decay
- can penetrate great quantities of matter
neutrino (2)
an isotope of hydrogen; 1 proton and 2 neutrons
deuterium
- matter made up of antiparticles
- form gamma rays photons
antimatter (2)
thermal energy of particles are transferred to adjacent particles by collision
conduction
- hot energy rises, cools as it nears the surface, and falls to be heated and rise again
- a region of turbulent plasma between a star’s core and its visible photosphere
convection (2)
waves/particles of energy traveling through space or a medium
radiation
a measure of how effectively a material blocks the radiation going through it
opacity
- a region within a star where energy is transported outward by radiation
- peak temp of 15 million K at the sun’s core, then 2-3 million K at the other margin
radiative zone (2)
a region within a star where energy id transported outward by convectionn
convection zone
historical observation that only about a 1/3 of predicted neutrinos by theory seemed to be coming from the sun
solar neutrino problem
the use of solar oscillations to study the interior of the sun
helioseismology
- the apparent surface of the sun as seen in visible light
- base of the atmosphere
photosphere (2)
- ## the region of the sun’s atmosphere located between the photosphere and the corona
chromosphere
the hot, outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere
corona