HSC Physics Core Module 1 Space

NEW SYLLABUS
3. he Solar Sys!e" is held !o#e!her $y #ra%i!y.
&escri$e a #ra%i!a!io'al (ield i' !he re#io' surrou'di'# a "assi%e o$)ec! i' !er"s o( i!s
e((ec!s o' o!her "asses i' i!
&e(i'e Ne*!o'+s La* o( U'i%ersal ,ra%i!a!io'
&iscuss !he -"por!a'ce o( Ne*!o'+s La* o( U'i%ersal ,ra%i!a!io' i' u'ders!a'di'# a'd
calcula!i'# !he "o!io' o( sa!elli!es
-de'!i(y !ha! a sli'#sho! a((ec! ca' $e pro%ided $y pla'e!s (or space pro$es
Prese'! i'(or"a!io' a'd use a%aila$le e%ide'ce !o discuss !he (ac!ors a((ec!i'# !he
s!re'#!h o( !he #ra%i!a!io'al (orce.
Loo. i' Sec!io' 1 a'd /. -! has $ee' co%ered.
0L& SYLLABUS
&iscuss !he li"i!a!io' o( curre'! "a1i"u" %eloci!ies $ei'# !oo slo* (or e1!e'ded space
!ra%el !o $e %ia$le
The term tyranny of distance is often used to describe the problems of communication and travel around
Australia. For Example from Sydney to Broken ill is approximately !!"" km. Travellin# at a steady !"" km$h
%ould take !! hours.
&ets shift this to interplanetary travel. The 'oya#er for example had a velocity of ("""" km$h.
The distance from Earth to )ars is approximately *+ million km. Travellin# at !"" """ km$h this %ould take
,- days to complete. This may seem acceptable. but this is one of our closest nei#hbours.
/eptune. %hich lies -0(" million km from Earth %ould take * years to reach.
To reach 1roxima 2enturi. the closest star to our o%n Sun at a distance of -" """ billion km. %ould re3uire
more than -( """ years to reach.
2learly. %hile current maximum velocities are 4ust ade3uate for interplanetary travel. they are entirely
inade3uate for interstellar travel. Further. it is unlikely that the distances mentioned above %ill be
surmountable.
Andromedas ,.! billion billion km distance can be expressed as ,.,* million li#ht years. %hich means that
even if %e mana#e to travel at the speed of li#ht. that is 0." x !"56 m$s. the 4ourney %ould still take ,.,*
million years to complete.
1ossibilities for Future Space Travel
!7 -o' propulsio' sys!e"s. This is 3uite different from conventional rocket en#ines. 8t uses
solar panels to #enerate electric fields that accelerate ions and e4ect out the back. The exit
velocity of the xenon ions is !!"""" km$h althou#h the mass is extremely small. This means
that the thrust from the ion drive is very different. 9hile a chemical rocket %ill produce
millions of ne%tons of thrust for a fe% minutes. the ion drive produces only approximately :"
m/ of thrust. ho%ever this can be maintained continuously for months or years. This means
lo% acceleration maintained for lon# periods of time is used to #enerate hi#h velocities. As
result conventional rockets are needed to #et into space. after %hich the ion propulsion
system is used.
,7 Li#h!2cra(! ;ocket<less disks that use micro%ave ener#y beams from orbitin# solar po%er
stations to lift from the Earths surface up to lo% Earth orbits
07 Nuclear Po*ered Spacecra(! Spacecraft carries small nuclear reactor and uses the ener#y
derived from it to drive them throu#h space.
-7 Li#h! Sails = &ar#e circular metallic sails that resemble parachutes pullin# their payload. as
they are pushed by lasers fired from the Earth. 1roponents say that this %ill be able to
#enerate extreme speeds. reachin# )ars in !" days. and the heliopause in 0<- years >'oya#er
hasnt reached it in ,"7
,a!her3 process3 a'alyse a'd prese'! i'(or"a!io' !o co"pare !he use o( "icro*a%e a'd
radio*a%e !ech'olo#y as e((ec!i%e co""u'ica!io' s!ra!e#ies (or space !ra%el.
;adio %aves are electroma#netic %aves. and their characteristic fre3uencies and %avelen#ths denote them as
one portion of the electroma#netic spectrum. The Earth is continually sub4ect to a %ide ran#e of
electroma#netic radiation that is produced by the Sun. o%ever. not all of the radiation that strikes the outer
atmosphere makes it throu#h to the Earths surface. 2ertain fre3uencies are absorbed and filtered out.
For the purpose of communications %ith satellites and spacecrafts. radiation must penetrate the atmosphere.
These fre3uencies are limited. 'isible li#ht penetrates. so does infra<red. $u! !he $roades! !ra's"issio'
occurs i' !he "icro*a%e a'd radio *a%es re#io's.
There are many natural sources of radio fre3uency %aves in space. such as pulsars and the sun. The are
observed by radio telescopes. %hich are lar#e dishes or arrays aimed at the sky to detect radio %aves arrivin#
from space. The si#nal is fed to the computers that are able to compile the information into an ima#e.
Ho*e%er3 o'e co"plica!io' o( radio as!ro'o"y is !ha! !he use o( !hese (re4ue'cies "us! $e shared
*i!h es!a$lished radio uses such as radio a'd 5.
Micro*a%es a%oid !his !ype o( i'!er(ere'ce a'd are pre(erred (or space co""u'ica!io' $ecause
!hey ha%e hi#her (re4ue'cies. This means shorter %avelen#ths that are more able to penetrate clouds.
ha?e and sno% and allo% the use of a smaller spacecraft antennae. The micro%ave band has been split into
re#ions for different uses such as communication satellites or space probes.
@espite thus selection of appropriately functional fre3uencies. there remain a number of difficulties %ith any
such space communication system
&escri$e di((icul!ies associa!ed *i!h e((ec!i%e a'd relia$le co""u'ica!io's $e!*ee'
sa!elli!es a'd Ear!h caused $y6
i. &is!a'ce
ii. 5a' Alle' radia!io' $el!s
iii. Su'spo! Ac!i%i!y
@istance
)icro%aves and radio %aves. like all electroma#netic %aves. travel throu#h space at the speed of li#ht. This is
the fastest speed possible in our universe and therefore places a limit on the speed and response time of
space communications.
Aeostationary Satellites have an altitude of approximately -"""" km. 8f a t%o conversation %as occurrin#.
usin# a #eostationary satellite. it takes ".,+ seconds for the si#nal to reach the satellite. thus there %ill be half
a second la# bet%een each 3uestion and response.
Bn a lar#er scale. the distance<time related la# can be much lon#er. A space probe on )ars at closest
approach to Earth is approximately *+ million km a%ay and therefore any radio transmissions %ould take over
!:" s to reach Earth.
A similar si#nal from /eptune at closest approach %ould take - hours to reach Earth.
Thus space probes that are sent. are #iven the ability to detect faults and act upon them autonomously rather
than %ait for instructions. Some satellites are also #iven the ability to think and fly its o%n course %hen
communications are prevented or are too slo%.
'an Allen ;adiation Belts
The io'osphere is the upper layer of the atmosphere. from *"<*""km in altitude. 8t becomes ionised due the
ultraviolet and C<ray electroma#netic radiation from above. As D' and C<rays impact upon air atoms. their
ener#y is transferred to the atoms and is sufficient to remove electrons completely. creatin# ions.
The chemistry of the elements present cause layers %ithin the ionosphere to behave differently accordin# to
altitude. The upper layers %ithin the ionosphere reflect radio %aves belo% some critical fre3uency. usually 0"
)?. The lo%er layer. ho%ever. acts more as an absorber of radio %aves.
he o%erall a((ec! is !ha! !he io'osphere "a.es #rou'd2$ased co""u'ica!io' $y re(lec!io' possi$le
a! cer!ai' (re4ue'cies. -' radio as!ro'o"y !he io'osphere "a.es #rou'd2$ased o$ser%a!io's
$elo* 17 MH8 di((icul! a'd al!ers !he *a%e proper!ies o( radio sources %ie*ed !hrou#h i!.
he Ear!h is surrou'ded $y !*o dou#h'u! shaped ri'#s called !he 5a' Alle' $el!s.
he i''er $el! contains very hi#h ener#y protons and electrons accumulated from collisions bet%een upper
atmospheric molecules and primary cosmic rays.
he ou!er $el! contains ions and electrons of much lo%er ener#y. captured by solar %ind.
Solar %ind. is the continuous outflo% of char#ed particles from the Sun. These particles. mostly protons and
electrons. stream out throu#h the solar system to the limits of the heliosphere. The heliosphere is a lar#e
?one around the solar system dominated by the Suns ma#netic field and solar %ind. 8t is bound by the
heliopause 9177 AU (ro" !he Su': %hich as not been found.
2osmic rays are extremely hi#h<ener#y particles from space that continuously bombard the Earth from all
directions. 9hile these particles are mostly protons. there are also nuclei of all kno%n elements. althou#h the
lar#er nuclei are 3uite rare.
The ori#in of cosmic rays is still unkno%n. althou#h current theories su##est that they are the products of
supernova explosions that have travelled the #alaxy. there paths bein# curved and t%isted by ma#netic fields
until they are randomly scattered. Dpon enterin# the Earths atmosphere these primary cosmic rays collide
%ith atomic nuclei producin# a sho%er of subatomic particles referred to as secondary cosmic rays.
A satellite in lo% Earth orbit lies beneath the inner 'an Allen belt and therefore is not affected by it. althou#h
bein# above the atmosphere is sub4ected to unfiltered hi#h<ener#y electroma#netic radiation and cosmic rays
that have penetrated the 'an Allen belts.
A satellite in #eostationary orbit. lies at the top ed#e of the upper 'an Allen belt and therefore must shield
itself from this radiation. Thus the only protection is has is throu#h the "a#'e!osphere. The ma#netosphere
is the re#ion around a planet in %hich the planets ma#netic field exerts an influence. it #ets distorted by the
solar %ind.
2ommunications %ith #eo<stationary satellites must occur throu#h the 'an Allen belts. This becomes
particularly troublesome %hen these belts fluctuate due to chan#es in solar radiation.
The Solar 2ycle
Su'spo!s are dark sports seen on the surface of the Sun. varyin# in si?e bet%een several hundred to several
thousand kilometers in diameter. They appear dark because they are cooler than their surroundin#s. The
spots also represent re#ions of intense ma#netic activity.
8t is thou#ht that sunspots are locations of disturbances in the ma#netic field lines %ithin the surface of the
Sun. %here they have become sufficiently buckles to loop out and then back into the surface. The intense field
activity %ithin a sunspot prevents the convection of heat to the surface. thereby reducin# its temperature.
Sunspots usually occur in pairs or #roups. lastin# for several days or %eeks.
Butside a sunspot. you have only #as pressure. %hich depends on the temperature. 8n the sunspot you have
both #as pressure and ma#netic field pressure combined. Since the pressure must be in balance. ma#netic
pressure inside the sunspot allo%s the #as pressure >and thus the temperature7 to remain lo%er than the
areas outside of the sunspot.
The sunspot cycle is a cyclical pattern of increasin# and decreasin# number of sunspots. The solar cycle is an
!! year cyclical pattern of increasin# and decreasin# fre3uency of sunspots. flares. prominences and coronal
mass e4ections.
Coro'al "ass e)ec!io's >%hich are part of Solar %ind7 are release by solar flares >sudden explosive burst of
radiation and matter near sunspots7. Thus sunspots are the point at %hich the solar %inds are created and
released. this is due to the intense ma#netic fields around a sunspot becomin# %ound up and t%isted that
they snap. This is %hy they are common around sunspots.
Coro'al Holes are re#ions of reduced temperature and density compared %ith the surroundin# corona.
2oronal holes are a source of hi#h<speed solar %inds.
Solar *i'ds are an outflo% of lo%<density plasma from the corona of the sun. Solar %inds take approximately
three to four days to reach the Earth. Solar %inds are a flo% of hi#hly ionised char#es carryin# the
interplanetary ma#netic fields %ith it. The interplanetary ma#netic field couples %ith the Earths ma#netic
field. allo%in# the solar %ind to interact %ith the Earths ma#netic field. )ost of the solar %ind flo%s around
and past the Earth. distortin# the Earths ma#netic field to create a lon# tail. The re#ion containin# a planets
ma#netic field. distorted in this %ay. is kno%n as a "a#'e!osphere.
The ions of the solar %ind can enter the ma#netosphere in three %aysE
- Throu#h the cusps. holes in the ma#netosphere. over the north and south poles
- Throu#h the ma#netotail and then back up to%ards the Earth
- Throu#h some leaka#e in the ma#netosphere
9hen the ions are inside. they captured by the Earths ma#netic field lines. They spiral from one pole to the
other and are then bounced back. Electrical currents are then caused %ithin the ionosphere and 'an Allen
belts >The 'an Allen belts are t%o dou#hnuts<shaped ?ones of radiation FionsG that %rap around the Earth7.
These currents produce their o%n ma#netic field. and the ma#netic field of the Earth is disrupted by this.
The ma#netosphere offers some protection for our planet from direct exposure to the solar %ind. ho%ever it is
still vulnerable to ma4or disruptions in the speed. density and temperature of solar %ind >kno%n as space
%eather7. Turbulent solar %inds buffet and irre#ularly distort the ma#netosphere. and at the same time a
#reater than usual number of char#ed particles find their %ay into the ma#netosphere to irre#ularly char#e
the ionosphere and 'an Allen belts.
The action of stormy space %eather on the Earth and its ma#netosphere produces a ran#e of side effects.
includin#E
- Abnormal heatin# of the atmosphere causin# it to expand sli#htly and increase dra# on lo% satellites
>%hich can result in premature decay of their orbits. causin# them to re<enter the Earths
atmosphere and most probably burn up7. As %ell. extra solar ener#y can heat the EarthHs
atmosphere more than usual. expandin# it. and causin# extra dra# on satellites. pullin# them into a
lo%er orbit. To maintain orbit the satellite must expend valuable fuel to push it to a hi#her orbit
thou#h this is normally at the expense of shortened mission life
- Electrical failure of communication satellites. i#her levels of radiation can char#e up a satelliteHs
electronics. causin# them to fail. throu#h dischar#e arcs or by buildin# up on insulation. 2har#ed
particles can disrupt computer memories
- 2an send hu#e spikes throu#h po%er #rids. resultin# in their failure. 2han#es in the ma#netic fields
around a conductin# net%ork such as a po%er #rid. phone lines or even train tracks %ill induce
sur#es of current in the conductors. up to hundreds of amperes in ma#nitude. This can cause
vulnerable components. such as transformers. to fail.
- Fluctuations in the 'an Allen belts and the ionosphere resultin# in disruptions to normal
communication. The solar %ind disrupts radio communications throu#h the %ay it chan#es the
ionosphere. an electrically<char#ed layer of the upper atmosphere. !""<*"" km in altitude. For some
applications >e.#. over<the<hori?on radar7. the ionosphere is used as a mirror. 8f it is disrupted by
Hspace %eatherH. it distorts the reflected si#nal. The disrupted ionosphere can also affects si#nals to
and from satellitesE A1S navi#ation si#nals can lose accuracy or even drop out alto#ether.
E((ec!s o( -'creases i' Elec!ro"a#'e!ic ;adia!io'6
8ncreases in electroma#netic radiation increase the ionisation of the ionosphere. %hich
alters the fre3uencies reflected by the upper layers and increases the absorption of
lo%er fre3uency %aves by the lo%er layer. This interrupts effective communication
throu#h or a#ainst the ionosphere
E((ec!s o( -'creases i' Solar *i'd
Sudden increases in Solar %ind can take several days to reach the Earth. Dpon arrival
ho%ever. the effects can be severe. The ma#netosphere becomes distorted and
#eoma#netic storm results. The increased flo% of char#ed particles increases the
stren#th of the 'an Allen belts and their associated electrical currents.
Aeostationary satellites. located at the top of the 'an Allen belts. normally become
electrically char#ed by the flo% of ions around them. o%ever under these
circumstances. the char#in# become erratic and can cause electrical failure of even the
loss of the satellite. The increased electrical currents %ithin the lo%er belt also disrupt
the ionosphere. further hinderin# communications.
Bther effects includeE
< eatin# of outer atmosphere. causin# expansion and increase dra# on lo%
satellites
< Sur#e in currents in po%er lines leadin# to po%er #rid failures
< Auroras occurrin# at unnaturally lo% altitudes.
Ne* ech'olo#ies <or space !ra%el 9E=;A:
=233
The C<00 is a half<scale model of a reusable launch vehicle intended to replace the space shuttle. &ike the
space shuttle. it %ill take off vertically. achieve lo%<Earth orbit. deploy payloads. then return to Earth and land
on an airstrip. Dnlike the space shuttle. it %ill use a ne% sin#le sta#e rocket en#ine so that its operation more
closely resembles that of a lar#e 4et aircraft. 8t %ill perform its task at one<tenth of the cost of the shuttle.
Solar Po*ered ;oc.e! S!a#e
A Solar po%ered rocket sta#e %ould be used to move satellites from lo% orbit out to a #eostationary orbit very
inexpensively. 8t %ill be able to use a li#ht%ei#ht mirror to reflect and focus the Suns li#ht rays on a #raphite
block. %hich heats up to a temperature of ,!"" 2 and then vapori?es stored li3uid hydro#en. The expandin#
#as is directed behind the vehicle and provides the thrust. 8t takes about t%o months to reach the orbit = but
the savin#s are tens of millions of dollars.