Understanding Our Universe
3rd Edition
ISBN: 9780393614428
Author: PALEN, Stacy, Kay, Laura, Blumenthal, George (george Ray)
Publisher: W.w. Norton & Company,
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Chapter 11, Problem 40QAP
To determine
The lifetime of the Sun.
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Using the results from above (1.29^29 kg), how much total energy is available to the Sun via nuclear fusion over its lifetime? (HINT: only 0.71% of the total mass of the available H in the core is converted into energy)
The Sun’s luminosity (or power) is 4 x 1026 Watts (=J/s). How many kilograms of hydrogen must be fused every second to maintain this luminosity? (hint: work backwards from the energy per second to the mass released to the amount of hydrogen required, using the results from the previous question.)
The Sun’s mass is ~2x1030 kg. If 10% of this is Hydrogen available in the core, how long will the Sun be able to continue fusing hydrogen at this rate? This is considered the Sun's "lifetime". If the Sun is 4.6 billion years old (and assuming it's power output is constant), how many years does it have left?
Assuming that (1) the solar luminosity has been constant since the Sun formed, and (2) the Sun was initially of uniform composition throughout, as described by Table 9.2, estimate how long it would take the Sun to convert all of its original hydrogen into helium. [Hint: Calculate the mass of hydrogen in the sun and then divide it by the rate of hydrogen fusion (PPT slide 47.)]
Chapter 11 Solutions
Understanding Our Universe
Ch. 11.1 - Prob. 11.1CYUCh. 11.2 - Prob. 11.2CYUCh. 11.3 - Prob. 11.3CYUCh. 11.4 - Prob. 11.4CYUCh. 11 - Prob. 1QAPCh. 11 - Prob. 2QAPCh. 11 - Prob. 3QAPCh. 11 - Prob. 4QAPCh. 11 - Prob. 5QAPCh. 11 - Prob. 6QAP
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- Assume that Hydrogen comprises 79% of the Sun's mass. How much mass is this? 1.57e+30 kg Only about 11% of the initial Hydrogen in the Sun is in the core where it is hot enough to burn. What was the total mass of the inital H in the core of the Sun? Hint: Use the answer above and the percent in the core to determine the total mass. Using the results from above, how much total energy is available to the Sun via nuclear fusion over its lifetime? (HINT: only 0.71% of the total mass of the available H in the core is converted into energy) Hint: E = m c^2arrow_forwardGiven the Sun's present rate of energy generation (i.e. its present luminosity), how long will the Sun's energy source last (from beginning to end)? Answer in years.arrow_forwardThe Sun is estimated to have about 5.00 billion years left in it’s “normal” (main sequence) lifetime. Assume the average “burn” rate that you computed in question #1, what % of the Sun’s current mass will have been converted at the end of it’s estimated 5.00 billion years of additional life? Actually, the Sun will lose more mass due to the solar wind, CMEs, the neutrio flux etc. the answer to number one was 3.683x10^14arrow_forward
- THIS WAS ALREADY ASKED; just need the question labeled 1.***** If the nuclear fusion reaction of converting 4 H → He occurs at an efficiency of 0.7%, and that mass is converted into energy according to the equation E = mc2, then estimate the Main Sequence lifetime of the Sun (spectral type G2) in years if the luminosity of the Sun is 3.83 × 1033 ergs s−1. Assume the Sun’s core (10% of the total mass) is converted from H into He. The Sun’s mass is M⊙ = 1.9891 × 1033 g. Make the same assumptions as the previous problem; however, now estimate the lifetime of star whose spectral type is B0 if the total mass of the star is M = 17.5M⊙, and it has a total luminosity L = 5.2×104L⊙. How does the Main Sequence lifetime of the B0 type star compare to the Main Sequence lifetime you calculated for of the Sun?arrow_forwardShow that the statement that 92% of the Sun’s atoms are hydrogen is consistent with the statement that 73% of the Sun’s mass is made up of hydrogen, as found in Table 15.2. (Hint: Make the simplifying assumption, which is nearly correct, that the Sun is made up entirely of hydrogen and helium.)arrow_forwardWhy do you suppose so great a fraction of the Sun’s energy comes from its central regions? Within what fraction of the Sun’s radius does practically all of the Sun’s luminosity originate (see Figure 16.16)? Within what radius of the Sun has its original hydrogen been partially used up? Discuss what relationship the answers to these questions bear to one another. Figure 16.16 shows how the temperature, density, rate of energy generation, and composition vary from the center of the Sun to its surface.arrow_forward
- Now suppose that all of the hydrogen atoms in the Sun were converted into helium. How much total energy would be produced? (To calculate the answer, you will have to estimate how many hydrogen atoms are in the Sun. This will give you good practice with scientific notation, since the numbers involved are very large! See Appendix C for a review of scientific notation.)arrow_forwardHow do we know the age of the Sun?arrow_forwardFrom the information in Figure 15.21, estimate the speed with which the particles in the CME in parts (c) and (d) are moving away from the Sun. Figure 15.21 Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection. This sequence of four images shows the evolution over time of a giant eruption on the Sun. (a) The event began at the location of a sunspot group, and (b) a flare is seen in far-ultraviolet light. (c) Fourteen hours later, a CME is seen blasting out into space. (d) Three hours later, this CME has expanded to form a giant cloud of particles escaping from the Sun and is beginning the journey out into the solar system. The white circle in (c) and (d) shows the diameter of the solar photosphere. The larger dark area shows where light from the Sun has been blocked out by a specially designed instrument to make it possible to see the faint emission from the corona. (credit a, b, c, d: modification of work by SOHO/EIT, SOHO/LASCO, SOHO/MDI (ESA & NASA))arrow_forward
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