8.

5 - The Cosmic Engine

Outline the historical development of models of the Universe from the time of
Aristotle to the time of Newton.
Heliocentric - Sun is placed in the centre of the Universe.
Geocentric - Earth is placed in the centre of the Universe.
Astronomer
Aristotle

Date
384-322 BC

Aristarchus

310-230 BC

Claudius Ptolemy

85 AD

Nicolaus Copernicus

1473-1543

Tycho Brahe

1546-1601

Johannes Kepler

1571-1630

Events
- Influenced by Plato
- Geocentric model
- Earth was not in motion,
did not rotate.
- Printer was available to
print mass information of
models to be collected
and spread.
Evidence: Air and birds
would not be able to keep
up with rotation.
- Universe consisted of
four elements - Fire,
Earth, Water, Air.
- First Heliocentric model.
- Modified Pythagoras'
ideas.
- Sun was much larger
than Earth.
Evidence: Made more
sense to have a smaller
body in motion around a
larger motion.
- Geocentric
- An elaborate model of
circles within circles to
predict observed motion
of stars and planet.
- Observation of
Retrograde Motion.
- Heliocentric
- Mathematical way to
explain movements of
planets.
- Geocentric
- Observed and mapped
the motion of the stars.
- Had evidence showing
Heliocentric model, but
rejected it.
- Heliocentric
- Showed planets
travelled in a spherical
way.

Galileo Galilei

1564-1642

Sir Isaac Newton

1642-1727

- 3 laws of planetary
motion.
(Law of Periods) -> planet
A = planet B
1) Planets orbit in an
elliptical path around the
Sun.
2) The planets sweep out
an equal area in equal
times as they orbit the
Sun.
3) The ratio of the cube
of the radius to the
square of the period of
the orbits is equal for all
planets in the Solar
System.
- Believed that the Earth
rotated on an axis, every
24 hours.
- Heliocentric
- Used telescope that was
made from lenses, from
local glass blowers.
- Discovered that planets
don't orbit the sun in
perfect circles, rather in
elliptical shapes.
- Proved that not all
planets orbit the Sun.
Evidence: Venus had
phases, Jupiter had 4
moons revolving around
it. Thus, proving that not
all objects orbit the Sun.
- Created theory of
gravity
- Law of Universal
Gravitation.
Individual's Mass
(constant), Sun's Mass
(constant) and distance
away from Sun
(constant), Velocity
(Constant).
- Gave reason behind
movement of planets.
- The Earth continues to
revolve around the sun in
an elliptical path due to
the addition of the
vectors of velocity + the
vector of gravitational
force from the Sun.

Outline the discovery of the expansion of the Universe by Hubble, following its
earlier prediction by Friedmann.
Friedmann made two assumptions, The Universe looks identical which ever
direction you look. This is true, whatever your viewpoint in the universe is.
Three models satisfied Friedmann's assumptions:
- Discovered a closed universe. The gravitation of all the matter in the
universe is able to bring the expansion to stationary, pulling back all the matter
together, hence a contracting universe.
- Flat universe. The expansion of the universe is fast enough to balance
out Fgravity. The expansion will slow down and stop.
- Open universe. The universe is expanding so fast that the gravity can
never stop it.
Edwin Hubble compared the wavelengths of spectral lines of hydrogen.
- Showed a simple relationship between the luminosity of a star and its distance.
The faster the galaxy is moving away from us the grater the shift towards the red
side of the light spectrum.
- With reference to the Doppler Effect, as an object travels away from the
observer the longer the wavelength and as a result the smaller the frequency.
Leading to a red shift.
Describe the transformation of radiation into matter which followed the Big
Bang.
- At 380 000 years after the big bang, temperatures dropped low enough ~3000
K and slowed down the motion of electrons and allow atomic nuclei to grab them
and form stable atoms.
Identify that Einstein described the equivalence of energy and mass.
- Albert Einstein proposed the equivalence of energy and mass (Energy = Mass x
Speed of Light(Squared);

Outline how the accretion of galaxies and stars occurred through:

Accretion: The process of the growth of a body by gathering or aggregating
more matter. This is done gravitationally.
- Expansion and cooling of the Universe
- Subsequent loss of particle kinetic energy
- Gravitational attraction between particles
- Lumpiness of the gas cloud that then allows gravitational collapse

- ~10 000 years after the Big Bang, expansion of the universe resulted in the
temperature falling enough so that matter particles exceeded the light and other
radiation.
- This resulted in the loss of kinetic energy as the temperature fell. (Temperature
is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles.
- Increased gravitational force between particles took effect. Small variations in
the density of the particles would consequently grow, leading to accretion.
- Ultimately our current Universe EVOLVED!
- The discovery of Cosmic Background Radiation. showed that variations in
density are needed to cause matter to aggregate to form stars and galaxies.
- Tiny variations in background radiation correlates to small variations in the
density of matter, this explains the gravitational attraction resulting in the
formation of stars and galaxies.
- The Cosmic Background Radiation showed a degree of lumpiness.
- This lumpiness, or uneven texture was necessary for the formation of stars and
galaxies.
- A huge cloud of perfectly even distributed matter can never condense into stars
because Fgravity is equal.
- A lumpy cloud has areas of higher density which will experience greater
gravitational forces, leading these lumps to grow in density as they accrete,
MORE MATTER.