Universe: Stars And Galaxies
Universe: Stars And Galaxies
6th Edition
ISBN: 9781319115098
Author: Roger Freedman, Robert Geller, William J. Kaufmann
Publisher: W. H. Freeman
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Chapter 18, Problem 36Q
To determine

The reason for late discovery of giant molecular clouds though they are among the largest objects in thegalaxy.

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(a) Rank the following components of the interstellar medium in order of the wavelengths at which they are observed, longest wavelength first: clouds of neutral hydrogen, coronal gas, interstellar dust, nebulae. Longest to Shortest?   (b) Rank the same material in order of decreasing temperature from hottest to coolest. Hottest to Coolest?
How are giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the loci of most star formation, themselves formed out of diffuse interstellar gas? What processes determine the distribution of physical conditions within star-forming regions, and why does star formation occur in only a small fraction of the available gas? How is the rate at which stars form determined by the properties of the natal GMC or, on a larger scale, of the interstellar medium (ISM) in a galaxy? What determines the mass distribution of forming stars, the initial mass function (IMF)? Most stars form in clusters (Lada & Lada 2003); how do stars form in such a dense environment and in the presence of enormous radiative and mechanical feedback from other YSOs?
At the average density of a star-forming molecular cloud, about 900 atoms per cm3, determine how large a sphere you would need to encompass mass equal to that of the Sun? Enter the radius of this sphere in light-years. (HINTS: 900 atoms per cm3 corresponds to a density of 1.51×10-18kg/m^3; the mass of the Sun is 2×1030kg) (The volume of a sphere is 4/3 * π * R3) (my previous answer of 6.812 X 1015 was incorrect)
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