Physics Assessment Task 5b

The Cosmic Engine

Research Assignment

By Peter Kariatlis
The Star Life Cycle

Step 1. Please refer to Figure 1. Below.

Every star starts its life in a stellar Nebula. Stars form from the gas
and dust of the interstellar medium. Occasionally, a massive cloud
will accumulate sufficient matter for its own gravitational attraction
to draw it still further together. As the core of the cloud begins
pulling itself together, its internal temperature and density rise until
the protostar within glows red faintly. As the central temperature
and density continue to rise the star begins to stabilize and
consequently form main sequence stars.

Step 2a and 2b (Also known as main sequence stars).

Main sequence stars all convert hydrogen into helium in their cores
in a process called fusion. During this process of fusion the star
releases energy which eventually reaches the surface of the sun.
(We see this as light energy). In the Main Sequence Phase of a star's
evolution, the star is stable (this means it neither shrinks nor
expands). A star will spend almost 90% of its lifetime on the MS
(Main sequence), although the more massive stars will not spend
most of its lifecycle in MS. There is stronger gravity in the more
massive stars; this therefore means the core of the star has a higher
temperature than the average star. This means it is easier for fusion
to take place and therefore use up the fuel for fusion faster.

Step 3a and 4. Death of an Average Star.

Once a star (of less than 8 solar masses) exhausts its supply of
hydrogen in its core, there is no longer any source of heat to support
the core against gravity. The core collapses until it can start
converting helium into carbon, at the same time the outer envelope
expands and evolves into a red giant. This brief phase only lasts
about a few tens of thousands of years. Eventually, the star will lose
all of the mass in its envelope, which will be swept away by a
powerful wind, and leave behind a hot core of carbon imbedded in a
nebula of gas. Radiation from this hot core will ionize the nebula,
producing a planetary nebula.

Step 3b and 5. Death of a Massive Star.

Once the helium in the cores of these massive stars (greater than 8
solar masses) has been used up the nuclear burning cycle continues.
The core contracts until it reaches temperature to burn carbon into
oxygen and various other elements including iron. Without any
source of heat to balance the gravity, the iron core collapses until it
reaches very high densities. This high density core resists further
collapse causing the matter around to "bounce" off the core, this is a
supernova explosion. When this occurs the star will be bright as a
galaxy of a billion stars.

Step 6 White Dwarfs.

Once the planetary nebula has been ejected, the left over star is a
white dwarf, and after consequently using up all remaining fuel
within and are the dimmest stars in the universe. All the material
that contained in the star will be packed into a volume one millionth
the size of the original star, with a surface temperature of about
20000 degrees Celsius.

Step 7a. Neutron Stars.

When a massive star collapses and passes the red super giant stage
and after the supernova, the central part of the massive star
collapses to form a neutron star. The centre is composed of mostly
neutrons and is very small in size. Neutron stars have extreme
gravitational pull and even bend the atoms within it are transformed
into unusual shapes. If the neutron star is rotating, the particles
around the star become charged and release radiation which are
called pulsars. This is why Neutron stars are sometimes known as
pulsars.

Step 7b. Black Holes

Another course after a massive star collapses is the core of the old
star can form a deep gravitational ‘warp’ in space which are called
black holes. Black holes are incredibly dense with a gravitational
field so strong that even light cannot escape. A black hole does not
have a surface, but has a region around it which is called the event
horizon.

Black Dwarfs.
Black dwarfs do not exist in our universe at the moment. They will
evolve from white dwarfs after cooling over a period longer than the
lifespan of our universe so far.

Fig 1.

Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram
Analysis of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (Refer to Above).

Giants and Supergiants (Top right area of diagram).

Giants and supergiants are a prominent group of stars in the
universe. Most of these stars are cool in temperature. Supergiants
and giants only appear bright (higher luminosity. Y-axis) on account
of their massive area, especially some of the higher temperature
supergiants. Most giants and supergiants have a low surface
temperature, compared to other stars in the universe that exist.
These stars can vary in colour and luminosity, with most giants a red
or orange colour with moderate luminosity and supergiants with
colours from red to blue and have a higher luminosity than giants.
En example of a star in this group is Rigal. Rigal is a relatively hot,
light blue star, and is very bright.

The Zero-Age Main Sequence Starts (ZAMS) (Diagonal across

Centre).

The narrow band of clustered stars along the long downward sloping
line is known as zero-age main sequence. Main sequence stars are
located along this line usually. The way the stars are distributed
along this sloping line is by many factors, the most significant factor
is the mass. The heavier stars are hotter and have a higher
luminosity, and are plotted towards the upper left of the ZAMS line,
while the less massive stars are plotted near the lower right, and are
less luminous and have a cooler temperature. The stars that make
up this part of the HR diagram vary in colour, again in correlation to
the temperature and luminosity, with the red/orange stars (also
known as red dwarfs) are at the bottom right (being cooler), while
the blue stars towards the top left (being hotter).

The White Dwarfs (Under ZAMS)

The White Dwarfs are located under the ZAMS due to their low
luminosity, but are typically hot stars. These stars are usually dull in
colour, due to their phase of the star lifecycle, but are hot because
of compaction, but over many billion years will eventually cool and
move lower on the HR diagram. An example of a star in this group is
Sirius B. It is dimmer than the sun, but has an extremely hot surface
temperature.

Other information for classifying star groups.

At the bottom of the HR diagram is a row of letters. This is called the

spectral class of the stars, and refers to the temperature of the
stars. The line in order, O, B, A, F, G, K and M, O being the hottest
while M being coolest. Typically on a HR diagram stars that are
hotter are towards the left, while the brighter stars are located
towards the top. The arrangement of the letters also refer to the
luminosity/color, O being brighter and more blue/white in color,
while M being orange/red in color and less luminous.
 Emissions from the Sun.
There are many emissions that are emitted from the sun that impact
and reach the earth, and take up to 8 minutes to reach the earth.
Emissions from the sun include light, heat and UV radiation and
many other things. The following identifies and describes the nature
of major emissions reaching the earth from the sun.

The sun emits most of its radiation in the following part of the
electromagnetic spectrum, but there are traces of other emissions
either way of the curve here.

Visible light is an emission that comes from the sun, which is a form
of electromagnetic radiation and travels at the speed of light and
can be ‘seen’ by our eyes. About half of the suns emissions (see
graph) are from these waves of the electromagnetic spectrum, and
is considered the most dominant emission from the sun. The
outermost corona of the sun, where temperatures are up to 5 million
degrees is where the visible light emissions come from.

Ultra violet radiation is another emission reaching the earth from

the sun, and can be identified by sunburn/suntan due to exposure.
Ultraviolet radiation is produced by high-temperature surfaces, such
as the Sun.The sun emits ultraviolet light in the all three UV bands
A, B and C, but most is absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere's ozone
layer the part that does reach the earths surface is 99% of the time
UVA. The emmited UV radiation comes from inside the sun where the
temperatures range from 6000-50000 degree celsius, usually
between the photo and chromosphere.
X-rays are also another emission from the sun, although a very small
%, because the smaller the wavelength, the higher the energy, the
temperature needed to release x-rays from the sun are very great
( millions of degrees). X-rays are created within the core of the sun,
when hydrogen burns to form helium. The following picture shows
the x-rays emitted from the sun, these emissions very rarely reach
the earth but still can..

Infrared waves are another emission reaching the earth from the sun
and are identified as a sensation of heat from the sunlight. The sun
is a extremely hot body that emits thermal radiation, due to energy
being released from the reactions within.

Other minor emissions from the sun include, gamma and microwaves
(if they can penetrate the atmosphere).

Other emissions include the solar wind (which will be described

further on in the report) which can reach the earth and have effects
on the communications and power industries. Another emission is
Coronal Mass Ejections (see picture below). Coronal Mass Ejections
are caused and produced (and have similar composition to the solar
wind, which will be descirbed later on) from eruptions on the surface
of the sun, and when reaches the earth can have similar effects as
the solar wind on the earth, in particular effects on communications
and electrical.
 The Solar Wind
The solar wind is the outward flow of material escaping from the
Suns spheres of influence, and can take 4 days to reach the earth
and its effects felt, and can travel at 400 km/s. The solar wind is
responsible for deflecting both the tail of the Earth's magnetosphere
and the tails of comets away from the Sun. Gaseous material ejected
from the suns is so hot that atoms do not exist, but positively and
negatively charged ions exist.

The source and cause of the solar wind is from the sun’s corona, in
which regions called coronal holes eject these particles, due to the
expansions of gases in the corona. The coronal holes are cooler,
denser areas compared to the rest of the surface of the sun. These
ejections and many other solar phenomena are also known as solar
storms.

The composition of the solar wind can be described as a “stream of

ionized particles”. The composition is as follows:

- electrons (also known as beta particles, and have a -1

charge)
- protons ***(from hydrogen nuclei)
- alpha particles @@(from helium nuclei, and have a +2
charge)

The solar wind consists of 73% hydrogen, thus protons***, 23%

helium @@ thus alpha particles, electrons 1% and the remaining %
(if any) is made up of other ions including Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen
and Neon and many other elements, due to their electrons being
taken from them because of the suns temperature. The solar wind is
balanced in its ion content and is not electrically charged.

The solar wind can bring many effects to the earth. When these
particles are ejected from the sun, they interact with the suns
magnetic field lines, and they carry with them the magnetic field
lines (called IMF or interplanetary magnetic field) that originate in
the solar corona. When these ionized particles hit the earth’s
magnetic field at high speeds, they shape the magnetic field to be
somewhat of a “teardrop” shape (shown below).
The solar wind causes can cause geomagnetic storms which can
cause disruptions to satellite and communication signals and it
reaches the atmosphere can interact with the nitrogen and oxygen
to create the aurora borealis. When the ions interfere with the
ionosphere, this can cause problems with radio communication.
These magnetic storms can also cause power disturbances in power
lines.

Another effect is the solar wind can cause health problems to

astronauts; this is because there is no thick magnetosphere and
atmosphere as on earth to protect them. The radiation, which can
penetrate 30cm of metal, can cause problems such as cancer to
these astronauts. Another effect seen is the tails of comets being
“blown” away from the sun, due to the solar wind.

Sunspots
Formation
Sunspots are described and seen as dark spots that appear on the
sun’s photosphere. They are cooler areas that have extremely strong
magnetic fields. Sunspots form due to penetration of magnetic field
lines through the photosphere (shown below), the penetration
causes a slow down in radiation and heat (because of the slow down
of plasma activities) therefore dark areas, which usually come in
pairs form, called Sunspots. Sunspots usually line up parallel to the
equator of the sun and have magnetic polarity, hence one is a south
pole and one is a north pole. Sunspots have an eleven year cycle,
which increases and decreases due to reversal of the suns magnetic
field.
 Assessment of Effects on Earth

When sunspots release their energy, they shoot beams of negatively

charged electrons into space, some of which escape into the earth's
atmosphere. The eleven year sunspot cycle (graph below) coincides
with the increased radiation interference with the Earth, and this
can be seen as auroral displays that can be seen all over the world.
For example, a powerful flare was emitted from a sunspot toward
Earth on 1 September 1859. It interrupted telegraph service and
caused visible Aurora Borealis that could be seen over most of the
southern hemisphere. This interruption on the telegraph serive
would have cause communication links between cities to go down,
thus effect people.

Sunspot cycle, with peaks every 11 years.

Sunspot activity can have a negative effect on the Earth; they pose a
threat for planet-wide radio blackouts. When the sunspot cycle is at
its peak, telecommunication can be disrupted causing people all
over the world to have problems communicating with each other. For
example, the last peak, in 1989, caused power blackouts, knocked
satellites out of orbit and disrupted radio communications.

A further effect is the effect of sunspots activities on the Earths

climate. This occurs when the extra bombardment of solar radiation
from sunspot activities affects the outer atmosphere of the Earth,
and can then contribute to climatic changes on the surface. This can
affect the biosphere of the earth and can conflict with flora and
fauna of the earth, due to these rapid changes in climate, and may
lead to death of the organisms and their species. For example, from
1645 – 1715, there was a drop in the earths temperature, (deemed a
“small ice age” or the Maunder Minimum) which corresponded to the
sunspot activity on the Sun, when it was at its lowest.

Another effect is on the electrical industry on earth. When the

sunspots coronal ejection of particles hits the earths, it can shut
down power grids all over the world. This effect is very negative on
the earth, as it disrupts everyone who is dependant on electricity.
For example, in 1989 solar energy from sunspots shut down the
electrical power grid in the Canadian, leaving millions of people in
the dark for a day.

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