Fundamental Forces:

Gravitational force weakest force that binds all mass together;

insignificant on small scales but dominant force in the major
universe
Electromagnetic force exerted by any particle having a net
electric charge; strength decreases with distance according to
inverse-square law, but is much stronger than gravity for
subatomic particles; can repel (between like charges) as well as
attract (between opposite charges)
Weak nuclear force weaker form of electromagnetism;
governs emission of radiation from some radioactive atoms and
neutrinos; effective range of about
m; can affect any type
of subatomic particle
Strong nuclear force binds atomic nuclei together and governs
generation of energy from stars; attraction between nuclei is
extremely strong and overcomes electromagnetic repulsion
within range of about
m; determines sizes of atomic
nuclei; can only affect protons and neutrons
Geometrical Measurements:
(

Baseline chord; distance radius; parallax interior angle

radian

Keplers Laws of Planetary Motion:

1) The orbital paths of planets are elliptical, with the center of
mass (the Sun in our solar system) located at one focus.
2) An imaginary line connecting a body to any of its satellites
sweeps out equal areas of the ellipse in equal intervals of time.
3) The square of a planets orbital period is proportional the
cube of its semi-major axis:
(

)
)

One A.U. (astronomical unit) is the length of the semi-major

axis of Earths elliptical orbit around the Sun.
is the
combined mass of both objects.
Newtons Law of Gravity:
, where is the
gravitational force,
and
are the masses of the two
objects, and is the distance between them. is the
gravitational constant, which equals
N m2/kg2
(newton meter2 / kilogram2).
If an object of mass moves at speed in an orbit of
radius around another object with mass , the equations for its
motion are given below:
Acceleration:
Circular orbit speed:
Escape speed:

Orbital period (Keplers Third Law):

Mass of orbited object (Sun):

Periapsis point of least distance of object from center of mass

of elliptical orbit
Apoapsis point of greatest distance of object from center of
mass of elliptical orbit
(
)
(
)
(

)
)

)
)

distance; semi-major axis; eccentricity;

standard gravitational parameter;
maximum
speed;
minimum speed
)
(
Specific relative angular momentum:
Specific orbital energy:
Radiation:
Electric and magnetic fields vibrate perpendicularly to each
other. They combine into an electromagnetic wave that moves
at the speed of light perpendicular to both fields. Wavelength
and frequency follow a logarithmic scale.

Blackbody an object that absorbs all radiation falling on it, and

reemits same amount of energy it absorbs in resting state
Blackbody curve describes distribution of reemitted radiation;
also called Planck curve after Max Planck

Wiens Law:
wavelength (cm); temperature (Kelvins)
Stefans Law:
energy flux; Stefan-Boltzmann constant
W/(m2 K4); W watts
Doppler Effect named after Christian Doppler, an Austrian
astrophysicist who first explained it in 1842
Positive recession velocity moving apart (redshift); negative
recession velocity approaching (blueshift); in this case, the
wave speed is , the speed of light
m/s

Spectroscopy:
Kirchhoffs Laws:
(a) A luminous solid,
liquid, or dense gas
emits light of all
wavelengths and so
produces a continuous
spectrum of radiation.
(c) A low-density hot
gas emits light whose
spectrum consists of a
series of bright emission
lines, which are
characteristic of the chemical composition of the gas.

(b) A cool thin gas absorbs certain wavelengths from a

continuous spectrum, leaving dark absorption lines, which are
characteristic of the chemical composition of the gas, in their
place. Absorption lines occur at the same wavelengths as
emission lines at higher temperatures.
Photon individual packet/particle of electromagnetic radiation
:
Plancks constant
joule seconds (
)
Electron transitions within molecules produce visible and
ultraviolet spectral lines (largest energy changes).
Changes in molecular vibration produce infrared spectral
features.
Changes in molecular rotation produce spectral lines in the
radio part of the spectrum (smallest energy changes)
Molecular spectral lines usually differ from those of each atom.
Spectral line broadening may be caused by:
Doppler effect thermal motion of atoms, object rotation,
gas turbulence (more rapid motion greater broadening)
Collisional broadening electrons move between orbitals
while parent atom is colliding with another atom
Zeeman effect magnetic fields split and blur spectral lines
(extent usually depends on strength of magnetic field)
Observed spectral
characteristic
Lines present
Peak frequency/wavelength
(continuous spectra)
Line intensities
Line width

Information provided
Composition, temperature
Temperature (Wiens Law)
Composition, temperature
Temperature, turbulence,

Doppler shift

rotation speed, density,

magnetic field
Line-of-sight velocity

Einsteins Theories of Relativity:

Special relativity speed of light is independent of motion
of observer or source, and curved space-time is contracted to
compensate
General relativity gravity is determined by curvature of
space-time (determined by amount of matter), and there is no
way to tell gravitational field and accelerated frame of reference
apart