The Big Bang Hypothesis

The fundamental particles that make up everything we know to exist were created at
the formation of the Universe, which began with the "Big Bang". Approximately 15
billion years ago (actually 10-20 billion is the estimate), the Universe exploded into
existence.
The observational evidence for the Big Bang includes:
Hubble's observations on the motion of galaxies
The observation of uniform cosmic background radiation
As well as some consistency arguments on the time it takes to form the
observed galaxy clusters and atomic elements.
The universe-forming "bang" was enormously energetic and the resulting temperature
was high. Elementary particles existed for fractions of a second and began to coalesce
with time, forming the familiar particles of atomic physics. Additionally, the
fundamental forces in the Universe began united in one system:

Elapsed Time

Transition

10^-43 second

Quarks and Bosons become interchangeable & Gravity force separates

10^-35 second

Electroweak and strong forces separate

10^-10 second

Weak and electromagnetic forces separate

1st millisecond

Particles form from quarks

3-4 minutes

Hydrogen and Helium nuclei form

1 billion years

Protogalaxies form

The Composition of the Universe

Atomic Structure
Atoms are the basic building blocks of matter (smaller divisions are possible, but for
our purposes, the classic structure of atoms will do). Atoms are composites of three
particle types:
electrons
protons
neutrons
The electron has a negative charge and orbits around the nucleus, which contains the
positively charged protons and neutrons, particles that have no electric charge. Protons
and neutrons are much larger and more massive than electrons (and are in fact made
up of smaller particles called quarks).

Atoms are mostly empty - a dense nucleus is surrounded by moving electrons. were
the proton the size of a grain of sand, the electron shell would be the size of a football
field.
Elements, Isotopes, and Molecules
Atoms can have different numbers of electrons, protons, and neutrons. We call atoms
that have the same number of electrons and protons elements. The atomic number is
defined as the number of protons in the atom.

Atoms of a particular element can have a varying number of neutrons and we identify
these variations of the elements isotopes. Some important elements in the study of
geology are Carbon-12 and Carbon-13, and Oxygen-16 and Oxygen-18, and Uranium235 and Uranium-238.

Molecules
Molecules are structures that consist of bonded atoms, sometimes constructed of a
single element, other times consisting of more than one element. Some commonly
known molecules are water: H2O and sodium-chloride Na-Cl (table salt).

Information and Light

We can estimate the composition of interstellar clouds, galaxies, stars, and planets by
studying the light they emit, absorb, or reflect. Light is a wave, and different colors of
light have different wavelengths

Light is one of many familiar electromagnetic waves:

Wave

Typical Wavelength

radio

many miles

microwave

feet to inches

infrared

tens of thousands of atoms

visible light

four thousand to eight thousand atoms

ultraviolet

hundreds of atoms

X ray

one atoms

gamma ray

the size of a nucleus

[Study Figure 2.3 on page 22 of the text book]

Spectral "Fingerprints"
Sources of light emit light at characteristic frequencies. We can use an instrument such
as a prism to separate light into it's native frequency constituents.

Electrons inhabit energy states that we call "shells". The observed spectral patterns
arise from the "movement" of electrons between quantized electron energy "states". In
a burning star, electrons are constantly absorbing and emitting energy and mak ing
transitions from one energy shell to another.
A result of the jump that decreases and electron's energy state is the emission of a
photon (a "particle" of light) with a specific frequency. Different elements have
different electron configurations, thus the transition of electron energy releases
photons of characteristic frequency, producing in effect a spec tral fingerprint of the
element.
If we observe and split the light emanating from stars, galaxies, etc., we find a line
spectrum, because only certain frequencies are permitted (a consequence explained by
a fascinating scientific theory called Quantum Mechanics).
[Study Figure 2.5 on page 23 of the text]
Because the process works backwards as well (an electron can absorb a photon with a
specific frequency and go to a higher energy state) we can observe two types of
spectra: absorption and emission.
Red Shifts and the Expanding Universe
We are now in a position to examine an important observation in support of the Big
Bang Hypothesis - red shifts in the spectra of galaxies.
[Study Figure 2.6 on page 24 of the text book]

Building the Elements

During the Big Bang, only the two simplest elements formed - Hydrogen and Helium.
The remaining 92 naturally occurring elements created in stars.
Since different elements have different numbers of protons and neutrons, to construct
different elements, we must alter the nuclei. Under the appropriate conditions, certain
combinations of elements can be fused together to make heavier elements.
[ Study Figure 2.7 on page 25 ]
The mass of the parts in this case is actually larger than the mass of the product. That
excess mass is converted into energy according to Einstein's famous formula

E = m c^2
(E = energy, m = mass, and c = the speed of light). The more protons an element
contains, the more difficult fusion becomes since the initial repulsion of the protons
must be overcome for nuclei to merge.
The Heavy Elements and Supernova Explosions
Within stars, the high temperatures allow the fusion of elements, beginning with
hydrogen at continuing through that of iron. The remaining elements require much
energy to form, and that energy is found in supernovae explosions. Elements heavier
than iron form in the few seconds of a large stellar explosion and are subsequently less
abundant.
Supernovas occur when the fuel in massive stars runs out and catastrophic
gravitational collapse occurs. Within minutes, the star reaches temperatures of tens of
billions of degrees and explodes.
[ Study Figure 2.9 on page 26 ]
Cosmic Abundances

The Formation of the Solar System

The Earth's Composition
We want to know Earth's composition. What line of evidence can we use? We can use
the laws of physics and chemistry to construct hypotheses of composition and Earth
formation. What are the observations we have available?
Direct samples of Earth
o Only the upper few hundred km (5%)
Cosmic Abundance of Elements
o Estimated from spectral measurements of stars and galaxies
Composition of our "neighbors"

o Moon
o Planets
o Asteroids, Meteors, and Comets
o Sol (our Sun)
Making a Solar System
During the approximately 10 billion following after the Big Bang, the Universe
expanded, stars were created that later exploded in Nova or fizzled and cooled. Our
Solar system is approximately 4.55 billion years old, so at first you may think that
only a few stellar cycles could have taken place. However, our star is relatively small
and much larger stars are possible. Larger stars burn their fuel more quickly, and can
complete their "life" cycle in as little time as 10's of millions of years! So, there were
many cycles of star formation -> Nova during the first two thirds of history.
Our solar system formed approximately 4.55 billion years ago, when a gas cloud
produced from the Big Bang and prior Supernovae coalesced. We presume that the
solar "nebula" (cloud) that later became our Solar System was initially rotating, not an
unreasonable assumption since it was the result of a prior supernova. Eventually, the
cloud succumbed to the forces of gravity and began to coalesce. Since it was spinning,
the laws of gravity and conservation of angular momentum produced a spinning disk
out of the nebula.
[ Study Figure 2.12 on page 28 ]
The Proto-Sun was concentrated at the center of the disk, and perhaps rings formed
much like those around Saturn. These rings would later become the planets.
Eventually, the gravitational collapse of the material ignited as fusion began in the
Sun. The early Sun had a powerful solar wind that began to blow much of the light
elements away from the inner parts of the disk.
[ Study Figure 2.11 on page 27 ]
This is the fundamental reason for the rocky inner planets and gaseous outer planets in
our solar system. In the meantime, the planets formed by the aggregation of the
nebular material remaining in the disk.

After Allegre (1992)

Earth's Core
Note that both models produce a collection of iron-rich material at the center of the
planet. This is by design, for we have strong evidence that the inner part of Earth is
predominantly iron.
The Evidence:
Seismic (earthquake) wave observations
Earth's mean density
Earth's rotational patterns (moments of inertia)
Meteorites
Meteorites
A meteorite is a fragment of asteroid, comet, planet, or moon that have fallen to Earth.

An asteroid is a rocky/iron body that traverse the solar system. Most asteroids orbit in
a planetary "gap" between Mars and Jupiter. They have characteristic diameters
between a few to few-hundred kilometers.
A comet is a mass of water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane, and other gasses that
orbit the Sun from very large distances (up to 1/5 the distance to the closest star).
[ Study Figures 2.13-2.17 in the text ]

Earth's Atmosphere
Despite the great abundance of Hydrogen and Helium in the Solar Nebula, Earth's
atmosphere contains little of these two elements. Early in the solar-system history the
strong solar wind cleared Earth of an atmosphere. The atmosphere we have today is a
product of Earth degassing, primarily through volcanic activity, and geochemical
recycling. Still, the hydrogen and helium contents are lower than one would expect.
The reason is the constant escape of gas into space.
To escape from Earth, you must travel at least as fast as the escape velocity. Gas
molecules are in constant motion - the velocity varies, but the hotter the gas, the faster
the gas molecules move. Additionally, the lighter the gas molecules, the faster they
move at a fixed temperature. The mean temperature of Earth's atmosphere allows the
lightest elements to escape, but keeps in the heavier gasses such as oxygen and
nitrogen.

Earth's Internal Heat

The Earth is a heat engine - and is cooling, but it hasn't really cooled too much during
geologic time, only about 1000 degrees.
[Study Figure 2.27 on page 41 of the text]
The two primary source of Earth's are:
Primordial heat left over from the time of accretion and the separation of iron
into the core.
Radioactive heat from the decay of one element into another (a change in the
atomic nucleus) .
The main heat producing elements in Earth are
Uranium, Thorium, and Potassium
Unlike the nuclear power in the Sun (fusion), these elements break down by fission the breaking apart of the nucleus.
Inner Core Freezing? Crystallization of the inner core is another potential
source of heat, although the details are speculative.

Cooling Earth
Some basic facts about heat:
Heat always flows from hot to cold.
Heat is transfered by two processes: Conduction and Convection.
The Earth is hotter than space so heat flows out of Earth.
[ Study Figure 2.25 on page 40 of the text ]
Conduction is a slow way to transfer heat and dominates in Earth's lithosphere
because the rocks there are too cool to flow quickly enough to transfer heat.
Convection is an efficient way to cool off by forming currents of hot and cold
material. Earth's outer core and mantle are two separate convecting systems.

Plate Tectonics is a Consequence of Convection

Plate tectonics is the surface manifestation of convection.
Hot material is brought up from the mantle and frozen to make new ocean
floor. Over the time of about 200 million years, this ocean cools by transmitting
heat to the ocean and then the atmosphere.
Old, cool ocean floor is then recycled back into Earth, to make room for the
warmer material.
Plumes
Another method of heat transmission in Earth is the formation of plumes. The exact
nature of plumes is unknown, some believe they arise from the core-mantle boundary,
others favor a shallower source.