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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Mass of the Sun
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Around 300,000 times the mass of earth.
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Radius of the Sun
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More than 100 times the radius of the earth.
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Composition of the Sun
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75% hydrogen
25% helium around 2% other material |
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Temperature of the Surface and Core of the Sun
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The temperature of the Sun's surface (photosphere) is just under 6000K. The temperature of the Sun's core is 15 million K.
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Luminosity of the Sun
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3.8 x 10^26 watts
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What is gravitational equilibrium?
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The natural balance balance between the two competing forces of gravity (pulling inward) and pressure (pushing outward).
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How does gravity and pressure play complementary roles in the gravitational equilibrium in the sun?
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Gravity pulls inward towards the core of the sun while pressure from the internal gas due to fusion precisely balances the gravity by pushing outward.
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How does density, temperature and pressure change from the surface of the Sun to the core?
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The Sun become more dense towards the core. Temperature in the atmosphere ranges from 1 million K in the corona, to 10,000 K in the chromosphere and about 6,000 K in the photosphere. The interior of the Sun get hotter; 10 million K at the radiation zone and 15 million K at the core. The pressure increases with each layer towards the core.
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What are the major regions of the interior and atmosphere of the sun?
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core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona, solar winds
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What are the different energy transport processes in the radiation and convection zones?
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In the convection zone, energy is transported by the rising of hot gas and the falling of cooler gas. In the radiation zone, energy is transported outward primarily in the form of light photons.
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Why does density, temperature and pressure change from the surface of the Sun to the core?
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Because the closer you get to the core, the more pressure is pushing down on the surrounding layers causing them to heat up, "bunch" up and become more pressurized.
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Why does the photosphere appear "granulated" up close?
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The rising and falling gas in the convection zone beneath the photosphere.
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Why can't gravitational contraction or chemical burning be responsible for the Sun's energy?
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Gravitational contraction made the Sun hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion in it's core and would only last about 25 million years and is not the cause for it's energy today. Chemical burning could not account for the mass amount of energy the Sun puts out.
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How does nuclear fission differ from nuclear fusion?
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Nuclear fission is when nuclei are split into smaller nuclei. Nuclear fusion is when nuclei are combined or fused together to make a larger nucleus.
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What is a strong nuclear force?
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The strong force is what binds protons and neutrons together in atomic nuclei.
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What is a neutrino?
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A neutrino is a subatomic particle resulting from a fusion reactions in the core.
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What is a positron?
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Just like an electron but with a positive charge.
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How does temperature affect the rate of hydrogen fusion?
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If temperature is slightly decreased, the fusion rate would lower. If temperature is slightly increased, the fusion rate would get higher.
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What is the "over-all" equation of the proton-proton chain reaction?
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1.) Two protons fuse to make a deuterium nucleus
2.) The deuterium nucleus and a new proton fuse to make a nucleus of helium-3 3.) Two helium-3 nuclei fuse to form helium-4 releasing two excess protons in the process |
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What do the terms in Einstein's equation "E=mc^2" mean? What role does this equation play in the proton-proton chain reaction?
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energy = mass x speed of light squared
Mass itself contains a lot of potential energy. If that energy is converted into thermal energy then it would account for the mass amount of energy the Sun gives out. The Sun converts its mass energy into thermal energy by way of hydrogen fusion. |
