Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Concept explainers
Videos
Textbook Question
Chapter 20, Problem 35E
Consider a grain of sand that contains 1 mg of oxygen (a typical amount for a medium-sized sand grain, since sand is mostly SiO2). How many oxygen atoms does the grain contain? What is the radius of the sphere you would have to spread them out over if you wanted them to have the same density as the interstellar medium, about 1 atom per cm3? You can look up the mass of an oxygen atom.
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solution
Students have asked these similar questions
In the deep space between galaxies, the number density of atoms is as low as 106 atoms/m3 and the temperature is a frigid 2.7 K.
a) What is the pressure, in pascals, in the region between galaxies
b) What volume, in cubic meters, is occupied by 2.5 mol of gas?
c) If this volume is a cube, what is the length of one of its edges, in kilometers?
In the deep space between galaxies, the density of atoms is as low as 106 atoms/m3, and the temperature is a frigid 2.7 K. What is the pressure (in Pa)?
What volume (in m3) is occupied by 4 mol of gas?
If this volume is a cube, what is the length of its sides in kilometers?
The Plummer sphere is a model for some star clusters, and it has the gravitational potential as given in the provided image. M and rp are both constant.
What is the density profile ρ(r)? When the Plummer sphere is observed from a large distance along the z axis, what is its surface density, Σ(R), where R is the distance from the center?
Chapter 20 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 20 - Identify several dark nebulae in photographs in...Ch. 20 - Why do nebulae near hot stars look red? Why do...Ch. 20 - Describe the characteristics of the various kinds...Ch. 20 - Prepare a table listing the different ways in...Ch. 20 - Describe how the 21-cm line of hydrogen is formed....Ch. 20 - Describe the properties of the dust grains found...Ch. 20 - Why is it difficult to determine where cosmic rays...Ch. 20 - What causes reddening of starlight? Explain how...Ch. 20 - Why do molecules, including H2 and more complex...Ch. 20 - Why can’t we use visible light telescopes to study...
Ch. 20 - The mass of the interstellar medium is determined...Ch. 20 - Where does interstellar dust come from? How does...Ch. 20 - Figure 20.2 shows a reddish glow around the star...Ch. 20 - If the red glow around Antares is indeed produced...Ch. 20 - Even though neutral hydrogen is the most abundant...Ch. 20 - The terms H II and H2 are both pronounced “H two.”...Ch. 20 - Suppose someone told you that she had discovered H...Ch. 20 - Describe the spectrum of each of the following: A....Ch. 20 - According to the text, a star must be hotter than...Ch. 20 - From the comments in the text about which kinds of...Ch. 20 - One way to calculate the size and shape of the...Ch. 20 - New stars form in regions where the density of gas...Ch. 20 - Thinking about the topics in this chapter, here is...Ch. 20 - Stars form in the Milky Way at a rate of about 1...Ch. 20 - The 21-cm line can be used not just to find out...Ch. 20 - Astronomers recently detected light emitted by a...Ch. 20 - We can detect 21-cm emission from other galaxies...Ch. 20 - We have said repeatedly that blue light undergoes...Ch. 20 - Suppose that, instead of being inside the Local...Ch. 20 - Suppose that, instead of being inside the Local...Ch. 20 - A molecular cloud is about 1000 times denser than...Ch. 20 - Would you expect to be able to detect an H II...Ch. 20 - Suppose that you gathered a ball of interstellar...Ch. 20 - At the average density of the interstellar medium,...Ch. 20 - Consider a grain of sand that contains 1 mg of...Ch. 20 - H II regions can exist only if there is a nearby...Ch. 20 - In the text, we said that the five-times ionized...Ch. 20 - Dust was originally discovered because the stars...Ch. 20 - How would the density inside a cold cloud (T=10K)...Ch. 20 - The text says that the Local Fluff, which...
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
Find more solutions based on key concepts
What is the role of “loose” electrons in heat conductors?
Conceptual Physics (12th Edition)
3. What is free-fall, and why does it make you weightless? Briefly describe why astronauts are weightless in th...
The Cosmic Perspective (8th Edition)
2. Choose a device that reduces the pressure caused by a force.
a. Scissors
b. Knife
c. Snowshoes
d. Nail
e. Sy...
College Physics
3. What is free-fall, and why does it make you weightless? Briefly describe why astronauts are weightless in th...
The Cosmic Perspective
A. Suppose that glider D is free to move and glider C rebounds. 1. In the spaces provided, draw separate free-b...
Tutorials in Introductory Physics
5. Why don’t equal masses of golf balls and Ping-Pong balls contain the same number of balls?
Conceptual Physical Science (6th Edition)
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Models of the first star-forming clouds indicate that they had a temperature of roughly 150 K and a particle density of roughly 400,000 particles per cubic centimeter at the time they started trapping their internal thermal energy. ▼ Part A Estimate the mass at which thermal pressure balances gravity for these values of pressure and temperature. Express your answer in kilograms. —| ΑΣΦ Mcloud Submit Part B = Mcloud How does that mass compare with the Sun's mass? Express your answer in solar masses. Submit Request Answer = ΤΙ ΑΣΦ Request Answer ? ? kg MSun Reviewarrow_forwardIn the deep space between galaxies, the density of atoms is 1 million atoms per m3 (i.e. there are 1 million atoms in a cubic meter), and the temperature is 3 K. (a) What is the pressure in space? (b) What volume (in cubic meters) is occupied by 100 moles of space gas? (c) If this volume is a cube, what is the length of one its sides in kilometers?arrow_forwardHow to solve this?arrow_forward
- Our galaxy is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter and 2,000 light years thick through the plane of the galaxy. If we were to compare the ratio of the diameter galaxy and its thickness to the ratio of the diameter of a CD and its thickness (CD has a diameter of 12 cm and thickness of 0.6 mm), what would be the factor differentiating those ratios? Put differently, if the galaxy were scaled down to the diameter of a CD, how many times thicker or thinner would the galaxy be than the CD? (For example if it would be twice as thick, you would answer 2 and if it were twice as thin you would answer 0.5 (aka 1/2))arrow_forward1. The current (critical) density of our universe is pe = 10-26kg/m³. Assume the universe is filled with cubes with equal size that each contain one person of m = 100kg. What would the length of the side of such a cube have to be in order to give the correct critical density? How many hydrogen atoms would you need in a box of 1 m³ to reach the critical density? The matter we know, which consists mostly of hydrogen, constitutes only 4.8% of the current critical energy density of our universe. So how many hydrogen atoms are actually in a box of 1 m3 in our universe? Deep space is very empty and a much better vacuum than we can obtain on earth in a laboratory.arrow_forwardThe most mass of our Milky Way is contained in an inner region close to the core with radius Ro. Because the mass outside this inner region is almost constant, the density distribution can be written as following (assume a flat Milky Way with height zo): p(r) = 0, J Po, r Ro (a) Derive an expression for the mass M(r) enclosed within the radius r. (b) Derive the expected rotational velocity of the Milky Way v(r) at a radius r. (c) Astronomical observations indicate that the rotational velocity follows a different behaviour: Vobs (r) = /GT P0 20 Ro 5/2 1+e-4r/Ro Draw the expected and observed rotational velocity into the plot below: 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 4 6 7 9. 10 Radius from Center r [Ro] (d) Scientists believe the reasons for the difference to be dark matter: Determine the rotational velocity due to dark matter vpM(r) from Ro and draw it into the plot above. (e) Derive the dark matter mass MDM(r) enclosed in r and explain its distributed. (f) Explain briefly three theories that provide…arrow_forward
- The relationship between the average luminosity and pulsation period for Cepheid variable stars can be written L = L⊙P3.7, where the period P is measured in days. A cepheid variable is observed in a distant galaxy, and is determined to have a pulsation period of 50 days. The average flux received from this star is measured to be 2.14×10−16Wm−2. Determine the distance to the galaxy and express your answer in units of Mpc.arrow_forwardWhite Dwarf Size II. The white dwarf, Sirius B, contains 0.98 solar mass, and its density is about 2 x 106 g/cm?. Find the radius of the white dwarf in km to three significant digits. (Hint: Density = mass/volume, and the volume of a 4 sphere is Tr.) 3 km Compare your answer with the radii of the planets listed in the Table A-10. Which planet is this white dwarf is closely equal to in size? I Table A-10 I Properties of the Planets ORBITAL PROPERTIES Semimajor Axis (a) Orbital Period (P) Average Orbital Velocity (km/s) Orbital Inclination Planet (AU) (106 km) (v) (days) Eccentricity to Ecliptic Mercury 0.387 57.9 0.241 88.0 47.9 0.206 7.0° Venus 0.723 108 0.615 224.7 35.0 0.007 3.4° Earth 1.00 150 1.00 365.3 29.8 0.017 Mars 1.52 228 1.88 687.0 24.1 0.093 1.8° Jupiter 5.20 779 11.9 4332 13.1 0.049 1.30 Saturn 9.58 1433 29.5 10,759 9.7 0.056 2.5° 30,799 60,190 Uranus 19.23 2877 84.3 6.8 0.044 0.8° Neptune * By definition. 30.10 4503 164.8 5.4 0.011 1.8° PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (Earth = e)…arrow_forwardThe most mass of our Milky Way is contained in an inner region close to the core with radius Ro. Because the mass outside this inner region is almost constant, the density distribution can be written as following (assume a flat Milky Way with height zo): { Po, r Ro p(r) = (a) Derive an expression for the mass M(r) enclosed within the radius r. (b) Derive the expected rotational velocity of the Milky Way v(r) at a radius r. (c) Astronomical observations indicate that the rotational velocity follows a different behaviour: 5/2 1+e-4r/Ro Vobs (r) = VGapozo Ro Draw the expected and observed rotational velocity into the plot below: 2.0 1.5 0.0 3 2 6 10 Radius from Center r [R] (d) Scientists believe the reasons for the difference to be dark matter: Determine the rotational velocity due to dark matter vpm(r) from Ro and draw it into the plot above. (e) Derive the dark matter mass MpM(r) enclosed in r and explain its distributed. (f) Explain briefly three theories that provide explanations for…arrow_forward
- The most mass of our Milky Way is contained in an inner region close to the core with radius Ro. Because the mass outside this inner region is almost constant, the density distribution can be written as following (assume a flat Milky Way with height zo): { r Ro (a) Derive an expression for the mass M(r) enclosed within the radius r. (b) Derive the expected rotational velocity of the Milky Way v(r) at a radius r. (c) Astronomical observations indicate that the rotational velocity follows a different behaviour: 5/2 1+e-4r/Ro Vobs (r) = V Draw the expected and observed rotational velocity into the plot below: 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0. 2 3 6 7 8 10 Radius from Center r (R) (d) Scientists believe the reasons for the difference to be dark matter: Determine the rotational velocity due to dark matter vpM (r) from Ro and draw it into the plot above. (e) Derive the dark matter mass MDM(r) enclosed in r and explain its distributed. (f) Explain briefly three theories that provide explanations for…arrow_forwardI asked the following question and was given the attached solution: Suppose that the universe were full of spherical objects, each of mass m and radius r . If the objects were distributed uniformly throughout the universe, what number density (#/m3) of spherical objects would be required to make the density equal to the critical density of our Universe? Values: m = 4 kg r = 0.0407 m Answer must be in scientific notation and include zero decimal places (1 sig fig --- e.g., 1234 should be written as 1*10^3) I don't follow the work and I got the wrong answer, so please help and show your work as I do not follow along easily thanksarrow_forwardThe most mass of our Milky Way is contained in an inner region close to the core with radius Ro. Because the mass outside this inner region is almost constant, the density distribution can be written as following (assume a flat Milky Way with height zo): { r Ro Po, p(r) = 0, (a) Derive an expression for the mass M(r) enclosed within the radius r. (b) Derive the expected rotational velocity of the Milky Way v(r) at a radius r. (c) Astronomical observations indicate that the rotational velocity follows a different behaviour: Vobs (r) = VGT Po z0 Ro 5/2 1+e-4r/Ro 4 Draw the expected and observed rotational velocity into the plot below:arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
AstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course ...PhysicsISBN:9781305960961Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning
Stars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399944Author:Michael A. SeedsPublisher:Cengage Learning
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Foundations...PhysicsISBN:9781133939146Author:Katz, Debora M.Publisher:Cengage Learning
College PhysicsPhysicsISBN:9781305952300Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris VuillePublisher:Cengage Learning
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course ...
Physics
ISBN:9781305960961
Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Stars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399944
Author:Michael A. Seeds
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Foundations...
Physics
ISBN:9781133939146
Author:Katz, Debora M.
Publisher:Cengage Learning
College Physics
Physics
ISBN:9781305952300
Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Publisher:Cengage Learning
General Relativity: The Curvature of Spacetime; Author: Professor Dave Explains;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7V3koyL7Mc;License: Standard YouTube License, CC-BY