The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780134874364
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan O. Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 21, Problem 43EAP
To determine

The evidence of widespread star formation the Large Magellanic Cloud.

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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?
As we discussed, clouds are made of a great many small drops. Really - a great many. Imagine a liquid cloud that fills a volume of 1 km3. The clouds contains 100 drops per cubic centimeter; for the sake of argument assume that each is 10 microns (micrometers) in radius. A. How many drops does the cloud contain? Compare this to a big number - say, the number of stars in the galaxy. B. What mass of water does the cloud contain? Compare this to something big - elephants, trucks, that sort of thing. C. What fraction of the cloud volume is filled with condensed water? One way to approach this is to compare the density of the suspended liquid water to the density of the surrounding air. D. How many 1 mm drizzle drops could you make from all the cloud drops? E. How much energy was released when this water condensed from vapor to liquid? If the water condensed in 20 minutes (a reasonable lifetime for a small cloud), what was the (energy per time)? power
All massive main sequence stars reside in clouds of glowing gas. The four powerful stars in the center of the Orion Nebula are good examples. Lower mass stars like the Sun generally don't have clouds of gas around them. a. Why do powerful stars reside in gas clouds? b. What is making the gas glow exactly? For the last question, refer to the surface temperature of these stars, and to Wien's Law.
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