Anna Henry

Physics 1010-Professor Schaffer

March 1, 2017
Class Project
Physics 1010-400, Physics 1010-401
Spring 2017

The Signature Assignment Parts

Part 1: Star Identification:

The photo below is of the centaurus/southern cross region of the milky way. This is not
visible in our sky as our latitude on the Earth is too far north. These are starfields seen
generally in the southern hemisphere and some of the tropical latitudes of the northern
hemisphere.

Centaurus is a large constellation in terms of the area it covers. The easiest markers in
this constellation are the two brightest stars, alpha and beta centauri. These are the two
brightest stars in the photo and are located just under the center of the photo. Alpha
Centauri is yellow and Beta Centauri is blue. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system
to our own. Were we living in the Alpha Centauri system, looking back towards the Sun,
the Sun would look much like Alpha Centauri does from here.

If you draw a line from Alpha Centauri through Beta Centauri and move, from Beta
Centauri about 2.5 times the Alpha Centaure/Beta Centauri distance you will see a
bright red star. That bright red star is one of the stars of the Southern Cross.

Pick 4 of the stars in the photograph below. Label each of these stars on the photo.
Then tell me the following things about each star:

1) Its name

Theta Centauri
Epsilon Centauri
Delta Centauri
Mu Centauri

2) Distance from Earth in light years (a light year is how far light can travel through
the vacuum of space moving at 670 million miles per hour for a year. By
everyday standards a light year is an enormous distance)

Theta Centauri is 58.82 light years from Earth.

Epsilon Centauri is 427.47 light years from Earth.
Delta Centauri is about 410 light years from Earth.
Mu Centauri is 505.68 lightyears from Earth.
 3) When the light from the star now visible in the skies of Earth actually left the star
(if a star is 10 light years away its light now visible in the skies of Earth left that
star 10 years ago in 2002)

The light from Theta Centauri is 58.82 years old.

The light from Epsilon Centauri is 427.47 years old.
The light from Delta Centauri is about 410 years old.
The light from Mu Centauri is 505.68 years old.

4) Its size compared to the Sun (you can do the comparison using the stars radius
to the Suns radius or the stars volume to the Suns volume)

Theta Centauri radius is 10.12 times bigger than the Sun.

Epsilon Centauri radius is 4.88 times bigger than the Sun.
Delta Centauri radius is 6.5 times bigger than the Sun.
Mu Centauri radius is 4 times bigger than the Sun.

5) The stars luminosity compared to the Sun (luminosity is a measure of brightness)

Theta Centauri is 60 times as brighter than the Sun.

Epsilon Centauri is 15,217 times brighter than the Sun.
Delta Centauri is 5,129 times brighter than the Sun.
Mu Centauri is 2,089 times brighter than the Sun.

You can list this information in tabular form star by star. A little extra credit will be
available for identifying the coal sack in the photo.

A good way to proceed is to use the star chart (also attached) to identify the stars by
their greek letters or proper name and then do a net search on the names to find
information.

Ive included an image of the Australian flag as a point of interest.

Above: photo of the Centaurus/Crux (Southern Cross) sector of the milky way.

Australian flag with the Southern Cross on the

Centaurus/Southern Cross right and
Beta Centauri in the lower left
star chart with Alpha and
Beta Centauri on the left
Part 2: Equation
Analysis:

These equations are in your textbook so that

should be a good source of accurate information
about them.

Equation 1: E = mc2

Answer or do the following:

Question 1: Find out what the things in this equation (using your book or a net search
will do it) are and identify them as either variables or constants.

E is the variable for energy and m is the variable for mass in this equation and c is the
speed of light, which is a constant.

Question 2: What is the size of c2?

In this equation, c2 stands for the speed of light squared. The speed of light is
2.99792 108 m/ s . Therefore:
2
c 2=( 2.99792 108 m/s ) =8.987551 1016 m 2 /s2

Question 3: Are mass and energy related? Answer yes or no and then provide a brief
explanation of your answer based on the analysis of the equation.

Yes, mass and energy are related. Einstein showed that mass could be converted to
energy proportional to the speed of light squared. Therefore, a small amount of mass
can be converted into a huge amount of energy.

Question 4: Analyze the statement: if it is possible to change mass into energy a little
bit of mass could produce a lot of energy. Is it true or not? Provide a brief explanation
based on your analysis of the equation

Yes, it is true and this equation shows how much energy you get when you convert
small amount of mass into energy. This helps explain nuclear power. During a nuclear
reaction, a small amount of mass is lost, which releases a huge amount of energy. For
example, when a fission reaction happens, the combined mass of the resulting atoms
and/or subatomic particles actually weigh slightly less than the original atom. If you
convert a single kg of matter into energy, you get:

E=mc 2=( 1 kg ) ( 8.987551 1016 m2 /s 2) =8.99 1016 J

That is 90 quadrillion joules of energy!

Equation 2: d = gt2/2

where:

d = distance an object falls when released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at the Earths surface
t = time the object has been falling

Question 5. Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the
equation to support your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations
module files).

a) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects

b) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesnt matter.

Statement b is the true. We can see this in the given equation as well, which has no
mass variable. Therefore, the equation shows that the distance an object falls in a
certain time (i.e. its speed) due to gravity is independent of its mass, assuming there is
no air resistance. If there was air resistance, that would incorporate a separate force,
which would then balance with the force on the object due to gravity. Therefore, in the
case of air resistance, the mass of the object becomes important.

Equation 3: v = gt

where:

v = velocity of a falling object if released from rest (no air resistance)

g = acceleration of gravity at Earths surface
t = time the object has been falling

Question 6: Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the
equation to support your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations
module files).

c) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects

d) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesnt matter.

I agree with statement d. The reason for this is the same as the last question. That is,
the equation has no mass term. Therefore, the velocity of the object is independent of
its mass if there is no air resistance.
Now go online and view this link. If the link is inoperable go to google video and do a
search on Galileo hammer feather experiment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mTsrRZEMwA

Question 7: For most of recorded history, people thought that heavy objects naturally
and under all conditions fall faster than lighter objects. Why did it take us so long to
realize the true state of affairs?

The reason why it took so long is that we are always dealing with air resistance for
falling objects. Therefore, it seems natural that the mass of an object determines its
speed when falling, which is true if there is enough air resistance. It wasnt until Galileo
performed his experiments on inclined planes, which were able to negate most of the
effects due to air resistance.

Question 8: The Earths gravity DOES exert a greater force on heavier objects than
lighter ones (these forces are called weight). However, with no air resistance objects fall
at the same speed in a given gravity field. The weight difference can be thousands of
pounds to one and the objects still fall at the same speed. What physical property of
mass compensates for the difference in applied forces?

The inertia of the object is what compensates for the difference in force. That is, a
heavier object will have a greater force acting on it, but it will also have a greater
amount of inertia by the same proportion. Therefore, it requires a greater force from
gravity to fall at the same speed as the lighter object.

Equation 4: e = 1 Tcold/Thot

where:

e = efficiency of energy use

Tcold = the temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine
Thot = the internal operating temperature of the engine

This is the equation for the efficiency of a heat engine (your car is a heat engine unless
you have an electric model). An e = 1 is 100% efficiency, meaning 100% of the energy
gets used to do what you want to do with no wasted, unrecoverable energy. An e = 0 is
an efficiency of zero with none of the energy going to what you want to do and all of the
energy being wasted or in unrecoverable forms.

The temperatures in this equation are in the Kelvin scale where the lowest temperature
is 0 degrees. There are no negative temperatures in the Kelvin scale. A temperature we
might encounter on Earth would be about 300 degrees Kelvin.

Question 9: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by lowering the

temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine (T cold)? Why or why not?
It is theoretically possible to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering Tcold to ABSOLUTE
ZERO (0 K). In this case, the second term in the equation would be zero, giving an
efficiency of 1 (i.e. 100%).

Question 10: Is it possible, in practice, to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering the

temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine (T cold)? Why or why not?

This isnt possible in practice, as even if you are able to truly reach 0 K, any interaction
with the heat engine, even observing it or performing measurements, would cause its
temperature to rise above absolute zero.

Question 11: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by raising the internal
operating temperature of the heat engine (T hot)? Why or why not?

This is not possible. In order to truly get 100% efficiency, the second term needs to
reduce to zero. In order for this to be true, Thot would need to equal infinity, which is
impossible.

Question 12: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in practice, by raising the

internal operating temperature of the heat engine (T hot)? Why or why not?

If it is impossible in theory, it is definitely impossible in practice.

Question 13: If your car is not electric, it is a heat engine and is subject to the efficiency
equation. Is it possible to build a car, using any kind of burning fuel, that is 100%
efficient? Explain.

No, this is not possible. You can improve the efficiency by using fuels that burn at very
high temperatures, so the temperature within the engine is much higher than the
surrounding environment. However, to reach 100% efficiency, the car would have to
either operate in an environment that is at absolute zero, which is not only impossible in
practice but wouldnt really work, since you would freeze to death in such an
environment. The other option would be to increase the internal operating temperature
of the engine to infinity, which is impossible in both theory and practice. Therefore, your
car, no matter what you do, will always have some efficiency less than 100%.

Part 3: Learning about a Law of Physics

Pick any Law or Principle of Physics in your textbook and:

1. Give me an explanation of what it is and what it means.

The law I chose is Newtons first law of motion, which states an object in rest tends to
stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an
outside force. This law is pretty self-explanatory, but it is just the most basic definition of
inertia. That is, matter will maintain its current momentum unless some force acts upon
it, causing the speed or direction of its motion to change.

2. Give me 3 examples in the real world involving the law or principle.

My first example is satellites orbiting Earth. Because of this law, we can place a satellite
in orbit and it will maintain suspended above Earth without requiring any fuel, besides
that which was used to get it into orbit.

My second example is flywheels. Flywheels are commonly used in industrial equipment

as a sort of mechanical battery. That is, because of this law, the flywheels will maintain
their angular momentum for long periods of time.

The last example is why we need seatbelts and airbags in cars. If we run our car into a
tree or another car, it will stop due to the force acting on it. However, we will want to stay
in motion due to this law. Therefore, if we dont have proper restraints, we will fly
through the windshield.

Part 4: Explanation of Fermis Paradox and possible resolution

This involves the possible existence of alien life in the Universe. A net search should
bring up some immediate information on the subject.

1. Clearly explain what this paradox involves and why it is a paradox.

Fermis Paradox states that despite the fact that there is a high probability for intelligent
life in the Universe that is far older and, therefore, much more advanced than our own
civilization, there appears to be no evidence for such life existing in the Universe that we
have observed. The main point is that our galaxy contains billions of stars, many of
which are both billions of years older than our Sun. If even a small fraction of these
stars have Earth-like planets, that means there should be many civilizations that are
millions or billions of years older and much advanced than we are. Therefore, these
civilizations should have the technology and have definitely had the time to traverse the
galaxy. Fermis Paradox is asking why we havent had any contact with extraterrestrial
civilizations.

2. List and briefly explain (like in a paragraph for each) 4 possible resolutions to the
paradox.

There are many possible resolutions to Fermis Paradox. However, a few stand out to
me. Firstly, there is the possibility that there just is not any life out there. This is called
the rare earth hypothesis, which argues it is near to or is impossible for the conditions
needed for intelligent life to occur. This hypothesis states that is it so rare for the perfect
conditions for life to form are so rare that it is unique just to Earth. When combined with
the time necessary to allow for evolution to occur, intelligent life is on Earth is one of a
kind.

The second idea is that mass extinctions wipe out civilizations before they become too
advanced. We have proof of this on our own planet. That is, we know there have been
several mass extinctions over the life of the Earth. It has taken mammals over 60 million
years to first establish themselves as the dominant life forms on Earth and eventually
evolve into humans. While we are just now gaining the ability to explore space and
potentially send and search for messages, it is possible or even likely that we will
become extinct through a catastrophic event before we have the ability to leave our own
solar system. If we were to become extinct in the next 100 or 1000 years, that means
we would have only had the ability to send or receive signals to or from space for an
extremely small fraction of time the Earth has been in existence. We have had this
technology for about 100 years, and the Earth is over 4 billion years old.

Another hypothesis is that intelligent extraterrestrials do exist, but chose not to make
themselves known to us. If they are truly millions or billions of years more evolved than
us, they may simply have no interest in communicating with a much more inferior
civilization. Furthermore, their technology may utilize means of communication that we
do not have or even know about. Therefore, we would not be able to detect their signals
unless they intentionally tried to contact us.

It is also possible that intelligent life is so different from us that even if they are about as
advanced as us, we may not be able to communicate with them. We know life as it
evolved on Earth, which may be only one of countless ways in which life manifests itself
throughout the Universe. Therefore, our technology, math, and even basic animal
physiology may be unique. For instance, we use electromagnetic radiation to
communicate with one another over long distances, and we assume aliens would use
the same thing. However, if they are significantly different from us, they may use
completely different means of communication that we dont know how to use.

Sources:

Wikipedia, Fermi Paradox, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox, accessed

3/1/2017

Universe Guide, Mu Centauri, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox, accessed

3/10/2017