--------- #1296 - When an Asteroid hit Manson, Iowa
- You probably have not heard of Manson Crater. It is where a giant asteroid hit the Earth at what is now Manson, Iowa. It was first discovered in 1912 when people realized that it was the location where water wells produced soft water. Everywhere else in Iowa the limestone earth produced water wells with definitely hard water. Manson was over a crater but it was not until 1953 that the University of Iowa set about to study the mystery with over 900 experimental wells dug in the area.
- There was no crater to be seen from the surface because the Ice Age and sent a glacier over the crater leveling it as smooth as a pool table. Yet they now knew they were standing on a crater that was 3 miles deep and 20 miles in diameter. Calculations determined that the amount of energy needed to create the crater came from an asteroid that was 1.5 miles diameter, weighing 10,000,000,000 tons and traveling at 140,000 miles per hour. It all happened 74,000,000 years ago.
- The Manson asteroid hit happened 9,000,000 years before the asteroid hit that killed all the dinosaurs. That happened 65,000,000 years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, just 600 miles due south of New Orleans. That asteroid was bigger. It created a crater 120 miles in diameter and 30 miles deep.
- Even today asteroids are flying by our path of orbit about the Sun. There are some 26,000 asteroids named and identified. But, there must be over a billion asteroids in orbit with Earth, Mars and Jupiter. All circling the Sun together. Some 100,000 crossing Earth’s orbit every year. In 1991 we saw an asteroid after it had passed . It just missed us by 106,000 miles. The Moon is 265,000 miles away. In 1993 another larger asteroid passed us within 90,000 miles. Estimates are that these near misses occur 2 or 3 times per week. An asteroid 100 yards across can not be detected until it is just a few days from impact.
- The asteroid that created the Manson Crater would not have been visible to the naked eye until it hit the atmosphere at 140,000 miles per hour. That is 10 times faster than a rifle bullet. The heated atmosphere would be a flash of light one second before it hit the Earth. When the asteroid hit the atmosphere it compressed the air raising the temperature in a fire ball to 60,000 Kelvin. That is 10 times hotter than the surface of the Sun. Everything in the path of the asteroid would be vaporized, including the meteorite itself. It would all be gone upon impact.
- The resulting blast would hurtle 1,000 cubic kilometers of debris killing everything within a 150 mile radius. After the blast of blinding light a shockwave would follow carrying a dark, rolling cloud traveling 1,000 miles per hour. The shockwave would flatten everything out to a 1,000 mile radius. Gone would be Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, and Detroit. They would be flattened by a blizzard of flying projectiles carried by the shockwave.
- The devastation would continue in diminishing impact beyond 1,000 miles. The Earth would ring like a bell and trigger additional volcanoes around the globe. Tsunamis would devastate distant shores. Much of the planet would be covered in darkness and at the same time ablaze in flames. If it happened today at least 1,500,000,000 people would be dead day one. Around the world survivors would have not warning, no idea what happened. Millions more slow deaths would follow for months and years. The Earth’s climate would be affected to some degree for 10,000 years.
- Keep in mind this entire event could occur without any warning.
- How often statistically does such an event actually happen on average? Once every 1,000,000 years on average.
- The good news is that there would likely be some species including humans that survive. The bad news is the good news can not be counted on. Extinctions would certainly occur. Humanity could be one of these. Out of a clear blue sky such an event could happen. Live one day at a time and be thankful you got it. Destiny is in the hands of a Universe far bigger than us. Humility is in order. Enjoy the soft water when visiting Manson Crater.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) From Bill Bryson’s “ A short history of nearly everything”
(2) #1265 “This asteroid missed us , but, what if”
(3) #1193 “ Asteroid to hit mother Earth”
(4) #937 “ Spinning asteroid, teacher’s lesson plan”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Wednesday, August 31, 2011
--------- #1295 - How the Earth was Formed?
- Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be and the night sky is not what you see. What you see is a lot younger that what is. The light you see left years ago, thousands, millions, even billions of years ago depending on what you are looking at. What it is today is totally different but you are prevented from seeing it because the light has not reached us yet.
- Attachment - meteor
- Supernovae occur all the time and many of the stars you see in the sky have long since died and exploded into the interstellar medium. When a supernova explodes it is like 1,000,000,000,000 hydrogen bombs going off all at once. If a supernova exploded within 500 lightyears of us, we’d be goners.
- On a good night it might be possible for you to count 6,000 stars. If you are looking at one area of the sky you could maybe count 2,000. Put on binoculars and you could see maybe 50,000 stars, 25 times as many stars come into view. Substitute a 2-inch telescope and you could see 300,000 stars in that same area, 150 times as many stars as the naked eye can see. Upgrade to a 16 inch telescope and you could see 50,000 to 100,000 galaxies each with billions of stars. However, the individual stars in the galaxies would be too small to pick out individually.
- A typical galaxy with 100,000,000,000 stars will have one supernova explosion every 200 to 300 years. The Crab Nebula that we see today was a supernova witnessed with the naked eye in 1054. In 1604 Johannes Kepler witnessed a supernova that lasted in the sky for 3 weeks. In 1987 a supernova was seen that occurred in a neighborhood galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was 169,000 lightyears away from us, but, viewed only from the Southern Hemisphere.
- 4,600,000,000 years ago gas and dust that was spread across 15,000,000,000 miles of space began to condense due to a steady accumulation of gravity as the cloud got denser and denser. 99.9% of all this space dust was used to create the Sun. The rest was debris that was used to create the rest of the Solar System. The mass collected at the core of the Sun was squeezed to temperatures of 100 million degrees. The core ignited with nuclear fusion converting hydrogen into helium.
- The 0.1% of the interstellar dust that was still orbiting the Sun spread out in a rotating accretion disk. The electrostatic force amongst the dust particles began to cause clumps. As these clumps grew gravity began to create mergers and collisions and larger clumps. The multiple collisions created asteroids, comets, and planets that swept through their orbits collecting more debris in a rain of meteorites.
- All the material that collected on our planet and these other orbiting objects came from the elements created in the earlier supernovae explosions. In 200,000,000 years the whole process was completed to create the Earth and the seven other planets. All the other asteroids and comets were never large enough for their gravity to create larger objects. However, the collisions and mergers are still occurring to this day. In fact, a large collision just 65,000,000 years ago in the Yucatan, Mexico, peninsula was so massive it killed all of the dinosaurs that roamed the Earth at that time. One of the earlier collisions between the Earth and a Mars-sized object created the Moon. In fact, the massive splash put into orbit 2 moons. See Review #1291 “Two Moons” to learn more about this event.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) From Bill Bryons “ A short history of nearly everything”, 2003
Other reviews available upon request:
(2) #511 “ The density of Mother Earth, the Ancient’s way”
(3) #537 “ The Garden of Eden”
(3) #829 “ The third rock for then Sun”
(4) #1190 “ Thank your children” Earth’s resources.
(5) #1256 “Why do I have earthquake insurance”
(5) #637 “Detecting life on Earth, Earthshine”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Monday, August 29, 2011
Feel free to pass it on.
Comments and corrections always welcome.
--------- #1294 - How the Universe was Formed
- In the beginning there was only energy. But, if you take 90,000,000,000 joules of energy ( A joule is a kilogram * meters^2 / seconds^2) you can create 1 kilogram of matter. One joule of energy. E = m*c^2 , where the speed of light squared is (3*10^8 meters / second)^2. The Universe started with a concentrated spot of only energy. There was no space for the spot and time and not started yet. But, out of this “ spot” of energy came a creation and an expansion of space and time.
- Attachment - Big Bang
- In the first second of the expansion and cooling the four forces emerged. First gravity, then the strong and weak nuclear forces , then the electromagnetic force. In just 60 seconds the Universe was 1,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter and still as hot as 10,000,000,000 degrees. It was a nuclear furnace that produced matter according to E=mc^2 and all the hydrogen, helium, and lithium in the Universe was born.
- In the first 3 minutes all the matter in the Universe was produced in the form of the lighter elements. Space, time, energy and matter began to expand throughout creating the Universe that is still expanding after 13,750,000,000 years.
- First there was nothing, then you have a Universe. How amazing. Will the Universe expand forever, or will it somehow reverse course and start contracting back to nothing again?
- In order to further explain why the Universe we see today is so uniform, homogeneous, and geometrically flat we have to introduce the concept of Cosmic Inflation. Right when the four forces were emerging out the Big Bang the Universe went through a brief inflation faster than the speed of light. It doubled in size every 10^-34 seconds. This only lasted a short time, only 10^-30 seconds, but, during that time the Universe grew by 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times.
- During the period of matter creation 10^79 photons, 10^79 protons, 10^79 electrons, 10^79 neutrons were produced. They were catapulted into space in a plasma of ionized particles. It took 380,000 years before the expansion and cooling allowed the strong and weak nuclear forces and the electromagnetic force to create the first neutral atoms of the lightest elements. When this happened the electromagnetic energy of photons escaped the plasma.
- It is this first burst of electromagnetic energy that surrounds us today. It causes the static on your television and gets received as the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. It started out as high energy Gamma Rays, traveled over 13,750,000,000 lightyears of distance and got stretched by expanding space to microwave wavelengths. It started out at 3,000 degrees and has cooled to 2.75 degrees Kelvin today. Which tells us that the Universe has expanded by a factor of 1,000 since then.
- It is hard to appreciate how fortunate all these numbers happened to turn out. If they were even the slightest bit different we could not exist. The Universe to support stars, galaxies, and life would not have happened. Everything had to be precisely right to create what we have today.
- The Universe is enormous. Somehow space curves in a way to allow it to be boundless and infinite. In other words there is no edge to space. There is no edge to the Universe. Space appears flat to us because it is so large. We see the flat part of a curved surface. It somehow appears the same to everyone no matter where they are in the Universe. Everything to everyone appears to be expanding away as if they are viewing it from the center. But, the Universe has no center. There is nothing beyond the Universe. The only space that exists is the space the Universe creates as it expands. Objects that are not held together by gravity are being separated by expanding space. The galaxies are forever flying apart or are merging, nothing in between.
- The Universe is bigger that we can ever see. The speed of light puts a limit on how far we can see. We have to wait till the light gets here. Therefore, we can not see beyond 13,750,000,000 lightyears. Light has traveled at 670,633,500 miles per hour over that entire time. The Observable Universe to us is only 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles across. If you look further you have to wait for the light to reach us.
- A period at the end of this sentence contains 500,000,000,000 protons. If you had atomic tweezers and you could pick yourself apart one atom at a time would could produce a pile of atoms weighing 154 pounds, if that is what you weigh when you started.
----------- The elements in the pile of atoms would be:
------------ oxygen ------------------ 95 pounds
------------ carbon ------------------ 356 pounds
------------ hydrogen --------------- 15 pounds
------------ nitrogen------------------ 4 pounds
------------ calcium ------------------ 2.2 pounds ( 35 ounces )
------------ phosphorus -------------- 27 ounces
------------ sulfur ------------------ 5 ounces
------------ sodium----------------- 3.5 ounces
------------ chlorine --------------- 3.4 ounces
------------ magnesium------------ .67 ounces
------------ iron------------------ .15 ounces
------------ fluorine -------------- .09 ounces
------------ zinc ------------------ .08 ounces
------------ silicon --------------- .04 ounces
- The pile of atoms would not be alive. But, it would be all the same elements. It is just a pile of atomic dust. A gust of wind would blow it away and all those elements would start making something else, water, rocks, sand, snails, bugs, or plants, who knows?
- If you could reassemble those atoms back together again to make you again, what a miracle!
- Mother Earth is the only planet we know that has managed to assemble atoms in this way to produce life. Of course it took a long time, say 4,500,000,000 years Somehow it produced life that is you. It produced a lot of other life too. 99.99% of all the life produced on Earth has become extinct. The average species only lasted 4,000,000 years.
Today we there are 1,900,000 species left that we have been discovered.
The total is likely ---------------- 8,800,000 species
------------------------------------ 6,500,000 are land species
------------------------------------ 2,200,000 are ocean species
------------------------------------ 7,800,000 are animals
------------------------------------ 611,000 are fungi
------------------------------------ 300,000 are plants.
------------------------------------ 1 is us.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) From Bill Bryon’s “ A short history of everything.”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Thursday, August 25, 2011
--------- #1292 - Using Calculus to Measure the Mass of a Comet
- NASA spacecraft caught up with Comet Hartley-2 on November 4, 2010 and took a picture of the icy dirtball that was 1.4 miles in length. Scaling the picture and using Calculus to determine the volume, the mass of the comet was put at 290,000,000 metric tons. This review shows the math involved.
- News, will the Comet Elenin fulfill the 2012 prophecy of the end of the Earth to occur December 21, 2012. Alarmist want to make the most of this modest-sized icy dirtball that will pass within 22,000,000 miles of our planet. The comet is 3 to 5 kilometers wide. Astronomers measure the mass of one object by its gravitational effect on another. But, these comets are far too small and too distant to have any measurable influence on Earth. Except, for alarmist news headlines.
- Attachment - comet
- Comet Hartley-2 flew by the Earth at its closest 11,000,000 miles away on October 20,2010. That is between us and the Sun which is 93,000,000 miles away. The Earth-Sun distance is called an Astronomical Unit.
- NASA sent a space craft to catch up with the comet. On November 4, 2010 the space craft took pictures from a distance of only 435 miles. The comet was dumbbell shaped and 1.4 miles in length. It was composed of water ice, carbon dioxide ice, and silicate dust. It was rotating a complete cycle every 18 hours. This comet was first discovered in 1986. The picture showed a pitted surface free of large craters but evidence of active ejection of gas plumes. The scale of the picture was 1 millimeter equaled 25 meters.
- The comet was 2,000 meters long. We can use Calculus to calculate the volume of the comet by measuring the radius at each point along its length then summing up (integrating) an infinite number of areas of circles with each radius over the entire length.
---------------------- Length ------------------- Radius
------------------------ 0 ---------------------------- 0 meters
------------------------ 200 ------------------------- 420 meters
------------------------ 400 ------------------------- 500 meters
------------------------ 600 ------------------------- 410 meters
------------------------ 800 ------------------------- 290 meters
------------------------ 1000 ------------------------ 210 meters
------------------------ 1200 ------------------------ 220 meters
------------------------ 1400 ------------------------ 290 meters
------------------------ 1600 ------------------------ 340 meters
------------------------ 1800 ------------------------ 310 meters
------------------------ 2000 ------------------------ 0 meters
- This dumbbell shape can be approximated by a function with Volume as a function of “x” length. The plot of the function is the y axis radius versus the x axis length, from 0 to 2 kilometers.
---------- Volume = pi * radius^2 * length
----------- y(radius) as a function of length x = -1.22x^4 +5.04x^3-6.78x^2+3.14x +0.03)
----------- Volume = ( -1.22x^4 +5.04x^3-6.78x^2+3.14x +0.03)^2 * length
----------- Volume = Integral 0 to 2 * pi * ( -1.22x^4 +5.04x^3-6.78x^2+3.14x +0.03)^2 * dx
----------- Volume = Integral 0 to 2 * pi * ( -1.22x^4 +5.04x^3-6.78x^2+3.14x +0.03) * ( -1.22x^4 +5.04x^3-6.78x^2+3.14x +0.03) * dx
----------- Volume = Integral 0 to 2 * pi * ( 1.49x^8 - 12.3x^7 + 41.94x^6-76x^5 + 77.55x^4 - 42.28x^3 + 9.46x^2 + 0.18x + 0.0009) * dx
- The integral of a function of the form: Integral x^n * dx = x^(n+1) / (n+1)
Example : Integral 1.49x^8 = 1.49 / 9 * 2^9 = 0.17* (512) = 87
Applying this integration to each term of the above function:
---------- Volume - pi* (0.17x^9 - 1.54x^8 + 5.99x^7 - 12.67x^6 + 15.51x^5 - 10.57x^4 + 3.15x^3 +0.09x^2 + a constant ) from x equal 0 to 2
--------- Volume = (3.14) ( 0.1655*2^9 - 1.5375*2^8 +5.9913*2^7 - 12.6667*2^6 + 15.51*2^5 - 10.57*2^3 + 0.09*2^2 +0.0009*2 + a constant
---------- Volume (3.14) * (0.157)
---------- Volume = 0.49 kilometers^3
--------- Volume = 4.9 *10^14 centimeters^3
- To get the mass of the comet we need to know the density in grams / cubic centimeter. Taking the average density from other comets:
---------------------- Halley’s Comet ----------------- 0.6 gm / cm^3
---------------------- Templ-1 Comet ----------------- 0.62 gm / cm^3
---------------------- Borrells Comet ----------------- 0.3 gm / cm^3
---------------------- Wild Comet ----------------- 0.6 gm / cm^3
- A good estimate would be Hartly-2 density is 0.6 gm / cm^3.
------------------------- mass = density * volume
------------------------- mass = (0.6 gm / cm^3) * (4.9*10^14 cm^3)
------------------------ mass = 2.9*10^14 grams
------------------------- 1000 kilograms = 1 metric ton
------------------------ Hartlley-2 mass = 290,000,000 metric tons
- To double check this calculation another way is to estimate the dumbbell volume as 2 spheres connected by a cylinder. Using the scale of the picture where 1 millimeter = 25 meters. The two spheres are 1000 meter and 750 meter in diameter.
------------------- 40 mm * 25 m/mm = 1000 meters
------------------- 30 mm * 25 m/mm = 750 meters
- The overall length is 2000 meters. Subtracting the diameters of the 2 spheres, 2000- 1750 gives the length of the cylinder to be 250 meters.
-------------- Volume of a sphere = 4/3 *pi*r^3
--------------- Volume = 1.33*3.14* (750 / 2)^3 = 2.2 * 10^8 m^3
--------------- Volume = 1.33*3.14* (1000 / 2)^3 = 5.2 * 10^8 m^3
----------------- Volume of a cylinder = pi * r^2 * length
-------------------Volume = 3.14 * (250)^2 * 250 = 0.49 * 10^8 m^3
--------------- Total Volume = 7.9*10^8 m^3
---------------- Total Volume = 7.9*10^14 cm^3
--------------- mass = (0.6 gm / cm^3) * (7.9*10^14 cm^3)
---------------- mass = 4.7*10^14 gm
------------ mass = 470,000,000 metric tons.
- This rough calculation is in the ballpark, but , about 60% too high. The Calculus calculation is thought to be the more accurate. The NASA mission included a probe impact on Temple-1 Comet on July 3, 2005 . The mission launch was January 12,2005. The mission was extended to meet up with Hartley-2 Comet on November 4, 2010 traveling 2,900,000,000 miles to get there. The total cost of the mission was $309 million. An expensive picture. But, a lot more than this was learned. An announcement will be made shortly, stay tuned.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Saturday, August 20, 2011
--------- #1291 - Two Moons over Miami
- Most astronomers believe that our Moon was created in a collision between Earth and a Mars-size planet. This Big Splash happened 4,500,000,000 years ago. The best evidence is that the Moon seems to be made out of Earth’s crust. The idea is that the collision simply splashed the crust into orbit and gravity eventually made it into a sphere.
- Attachment - Big Splat
- We have since learned that the far side of the Moon is much different than the side we see. The far side is more hilly with deeply pitted craters. The nearside is relatively smooth basalt plains called “ Maria”. Gravity maps and radar have shown that the crust is much thicker on the far side. One explanation for this imbalance is that the Big Splash actually created two moons in orbit. The smaller moon trailing the larger moon by some 60 degrees in synchronous orbit around the Earth. Our Moon was 3 times wider in diameter and 25 times heavier than the smaller moon. Within 100 million years, the gravity of the larger Moon eventually pulled the smaller moon into a collision at 5,000 miles per hour. The smaller moon was 600 miles side and the resulting “Big Splat” spreading the rocks and crust over the surface without creating a giant crater due to the low velocity of the crash.
- Now we only have one Moon. Mars has two moons. Mercury and Venus none, but there are 166 moons in our planetary Solar System. It is doubtful that these other moons were all created in the same way our Moon was created.
- The moons that have highly elliptical orbits are called “irregular satellites”. There are 109 of these moons. Their orbits trace out more of a daisy peddle that a simple single ellipse. And most irregular moons are orbiting in the opposite direction of their planet’s rotation. This is called a “ retrograde orbit”.
- There are 57 “regular satellites “ with more circular orbits and in the same direction as the planet’s rotation. Astronomers believe these regular moons formed at the same time as their planets.
- Here is a tally of moons discovered to date:
--------------------------------------------Regular --------Irregular ------------Total
-------------------- Jupiter -------------- 8 -------------- 55 ------------------- 63
-------------------- Saturn -------------- 24 -------------- 38 ------------------- 62
-------------------- Uranus ------------- 18 -------------- 9 ------------------- 27
-------------------- Neptune ------------- 6 -------------- 7 ------------------- 13
-------------------- Earth ----------------- 1
-------------------- Mars ----------------- 2
-------------------- Venus --------------- 0
-------------------- Mercury --------------0
-------------------- Pluto ---------------- 4
- A moon is captured when the gravitational pull of the planet is greater than that of the Sun. In our early Solar System evolution 4 to 5 billion years ago there were many small icy bodies called planetisimals orbiting the Sun. Occasionally a planet’s gravity could capture one of these planetisimals and they could orbit the Sun together.
- Another theory for moon is called the “3-body interaction”. This is where two planets or two planetisimals create a gravity trap that catches a 3rd smaller icy body.
- Astronomers believe the giant planets first formed nearer to the Sun the today’s orbits, say 5 to 17 astronomical units, instead of 5 to 40AU. Planetisimals were orbiting the Sun out to about 35 AU. ( An astronomical unit is the today’s distance between the Earth and the Sun, 93 million miles.)
----------------------- Jupiter -------------- 5.2 AU
----------------------- Saturn -------------- 9.5 AU
----------------------- Uranus -------------- 19.2 AU
----------------------- Neptune -------------- 30 AU
----------------------- Pluto------------------ 40 AU
----------------------- Sedna ----------------- 68 AU
----------------------- Kuiper Belt -------- 30 to 70 AU
- As the early planets orbited they naturally sought resonances in their orbits that tweaked their radius. 2:1 resonance meant Jupiter made 2 revolutions for every one that Saturn made. As the larger planets interacted in this way they also tweaked the orbits of smaller objects that were in their path. All orbits were seeking a balance that did not interfere with each other.
- Some of these icy bodies may have come from the Kuiper Belt that lies outside the orbit of Neptune, 30 to 70 AU. These could have been the source of the inner planets receiving heavy bombardment in the early evolution of the Solar System. This could explain how water arrived on Earth. It could explain why the Moon has so many craters.
- One thing for certain our early Solar System was a chaotic place. There were many collisions and close encounters… Orbits were being tossed around like Frisbees. It took billions of years to settle out to what we see today. Today we see some 200 moons among the 8 planets and the 6 Dwarf Planets, including poor Pluto.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Thursday, August 18, 2011
--------- #1290 - Why is Dark Energy Expanding the Universe?
- Most astronomical data we have today confirms the fact (theory in fact) that the Universe is still expanding at an ever increasing rate. The cause is suspected to be some type of anti-gravity that is named “ Dark Energy”. We know what gravity is and we expected gravity to eventually stop the expansion and reverse the Universe into a “ Big Crunch”. However, we now think that Dark Energy is the predominate force in the Universe and that it will expand the Universe forever into a “Cold , Rarified Space of almost Nothing”
- Attachment - Big Bang
- The math for this tug of war between gravity and expansion was first invented by Albert Einstein. Einstein put a fudge factor in his equations because he did not know the Universe was expanding. He thought it was static and he needed to add the “ Cosmological Constant” to balance the two forces and make the Universe static. In 1920 Edwin Hubble discovered that indeed the Universe was not static, it was expanding and the galaxies were receding away at enormous speeds. The further their distance the faster their recession.
- In addition to this revelation from Hubble other scientists pointed out that his equations in balance were impossible in reality. It was like balancing a pencil on its point. The slightest imbalance would cause the pencil to collapse to the ground. For the equations to work the Universe had to be either expanding or collapsing. Einstein was humiliated and called the Cosmological Constant the greatest blunder in his life.
- To get a static Universe Einstein had to balance the acceleration of gravity with a negative vacuum pressure. The sum of the two had to be zero.
----------- The Force of gravity = F = G * M * m / R^2
------------ The Force of gravity is equal to the product of the Gravitational Constant, “G”, the two masses, “M*m”, and inversely to the square of the distance, “R^2”.
------------ The Force of gravity = mass * acceleration of gravity
------------- F = m*a
----------- Acceleration of gravity = F / m = G * M / R^2
- Next we introduce the term “ Critical Density” which is the precise amount of mass in the Universe to exactly balance between the re-collapse of gravity and the expansion of Dark Energy. Density is the mass per unit volume.
--------------- Density = mass / volume
------------------ If we assume the volume to be a uniform sphere = 4/3 pi* R^2
---------------- Acceleration of gravity = G* M / R^2
----------------- Acceleration of gravity = G * Density * Volume / R^2
---------------- Acceleration of gravity = G * Density * 4/3pi * R
- Now we need to subtract the negative pressure due to the vacuum energy density of space. In this case we use Einstein’s equation, E = m*c^2
----------------------- E = Density * Volume * c^2
------------------- Vacuum energy = Density * 4/3pi * R^3 * c^2
-------------------- Acceleration of gravity - Vacuum energy = zero
---------------- G * (Matter Density) * 4/3pi * R - (Vacuum Density) * 4/3pi * R^3 * c^2 = 0
- Unfortunately this equation for a static Universe is unstable. It can not stay static. The slightest tilt in favor of gravity or vacuum energy will cause a runaway Universe either collapsing or expanding, but, not static. Einstein called this the greatest blunder of his life.
- But, maybe the Cosmological Constant is not a blunder. In 1998 astronomers discovered that not only was the Universe expanding , it was expanding at an accelerating rate. Some anti-gravity force existed in the vacuum of space to cause this acceleration. The Cosmological Constant may be this Dark Energy that is this anti-gravity force. The Cosmological Constant just needs the right sign and the right value to match what astronomers were seeing.
- Dark Energy was a form of negative pressure counteracting gravity. It was a vacuum energy density that is constant over time and distance. Unlike gravity that is constant over time ( in theory) but decreases at the square of distance of separation.
- To illustrate negative pressure from a vacuum put a piston in a cylinder inside a vacuum. Pull the piston out and it produces another vacuum inside the cylinder. That vacuum must have some energy equal to the force used to pull out the piston. Vacuum energy. If the vacuum is trying to pull the piston back into the cylinder it must have “negative pressure”
- How can we estimate this negative pressure that is the force of Dark Energy? The amount of gravity trying to collapse the Universe depends on the amount of matter that occupies the volume of space. This “critical density” is the average density for the entire Universe that marks the dividing line between a re-collapsing Universe and one that will expand forever.
- What astronomers believe today is that the density is slightly less than the critical density. The force of gravity was dominant the first 7 billion years after the Big Bang. After that Dark Energy took over and has been the dominant force in the Universe for the last 7 billion years. The calculation for the critical density in this scenario is:
------------------------- Critical Density = 10^-26 kilograms / meter^3
- This seems like a very small number. To begin to understand it let’s calculate the average density inside our Solar System:
--------------------------- Density = mass / volume.
- The Sun is 99.85% of the total mass of the Solar System. The Sun’s mass is 2*10^30 kilograms.
--------------------- Solar System mass = 2 * 10^30 kilograms
--------------------- Solar System volume = 10^44 meters^3
-------------------- Solar System average density = 2*10^30 kilogram / 10^44 meter^3
-------------------- Solar System average density = 2*10^-14 kilogram / meter^3
-------------------- The average density of (10^-14 kg/m^3) is much heavier than the Critical Density (10^-27) so our Solar System must be dominated by gravity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- What is the average density inside the Milky Way Galaxy?
-------------------- Galaxy mass = 10^12 Solar Mass = 2 * 10^42 kilograms
-------------------- Galaxy radius = 100,000 lightyears = 10^21 meters
------------------- Galaxy area of disk = 10^42 meters ^2
-------------------- Galaxy volume = 6.7 * 10^62 meters^3
------------------- Height of the cylinder of the disk is 0.85 ^10^19 meters, or 900 lightyears.
------------------- Galaxy density = 3 *10^-21 kilograms / meters^3
- The average density inside the Milky Way Galaxy, (10^-21) is more rarified and closer to the Critical Density but still it is dominated by gravity by a factor of 1,000,000 times.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- What is the average density of the Universe ?
------------------ Universe density = 8 * 10^-27 kilograms / meter^3.
------------------ Dark Energy density = 6 * 10^-27 kilograms / meter^3
------------------ Matter density = 2 * 10^-27 kilograms / meter^3
------------ Dark Energy density / Critical Density + Matter density / Critical Density = Critical Density / Critical Density = 1
------------ 0.75 + 0.25 = 1
- Dark Energy is 75% of the mass/energy of the Universe. And, it is expanding. Matter and Dark Matter are 25% of the mass/energy of the Universe.
-------------- 0,50 + 0.50 = 1 is the relationship for a static Universe which we do not have. Ours is a dynamic Universe unbalanced by the mysterious Dark Energy.
----------------- Universe Radius = 10^58 meters.
----------------- Universe volume = 4.2 *10^174 meters^3
------------------ Universe Mass = 8.4 * 10^147 kilograms
---------------- Universe mass in terms of Solar Mass = 4.2*10^117. That is how many Sun-size stars would be in the Universe if it were all matter.
------------------ Universe Mass in terms of galaxies = 4.2 *10^105 . That is how many Milky Way size galaxies would be in the Universe if it were all matter. The Observable Universe is estimated to have 100 billion galaxies (10^11) each with 100 billion stars (10^11). Therefore the Observable Universe has (10^22) Sun-sized stars (2*10^52 kilograms). That would mean the actual Universe is 10^95 times larger than the Observable Universe. The Observable Universe only has 10^58 atoms. This may be what makes us think that 75% of the Universe is Dark Energy. Energy and matter are two forms of the same thing, E=mc^2
- I have a problem with big numbers. I have to take off my shoes.
CONCLUSION: The conclusion is that the Universe has a positive but small vacuum energy density that is accelerating its expansion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) #1047 “ Is the universe like Swiss cheese
(2) Dark Energy ( 7 pages)
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Tuesday, August 16, 2011
--------- #1289 What You Should Know About Your Belly Button?
- Opinions are like belly buttons. Everybody has one. You would not expect much science to lie inside a belly button. WRONG! Science has studied belly buttons and has found that over 1,400 different bacteria live in belly buttons, regardless of innies or outies.
- On average any particular individual has about 70 different bacteria living in their belly buttons. Overall there are 1,400 different varieties found there. So, each individual tends to have a unique mix of belly button bacteria. Each belly button is a kind of fingerprint. The mix of bacteria living there is unique to that individual. ( This study include 391 men and women that participated in belly button examinations. )
- Science found that these particular bacteria are relatively undisturbed by cleansers, lotions , ultraviolet light, or other things. Belly buttons are a fortress not easily penetrated.
- Fortunately, belly button bacteria are friendly and we are lucky to have them. They are the first line of defense against pathogens that randomly land on us. A pathogen is any disease producing microorganism. If you sterilized your body of these friendly bacteria you would be at high risk of infections. These belly button bacteria are an army on your skin that confronts pathogens with a vengeance.
- Another community of friendly bacteria live in your stomach and intestines. If you add up all the bacteria in and on your body there would be 10,000 bacteria for every human cell. You are actually a walking, talking microbial community.
- If you are smelling belly buttons you will come across Corynebacterium metabolized testosterone, a big word that smells musky like urine. Another type of bacteria metabolizes sebum and sweat. It smells like onions. Sebum is the oily stuff that lubricates hair on the body. Metabolism is the chemical breaking down of a substance releasing energy. Metabolism is what goes on in digestion of food.
- Since each individual has a unique set of bacteria, they have a unique smell. Studies have shown that mothers can recognize their babies by smell alone. These bacteria are intimate partners in your life. The are a largely unknown life that are part of our life.
- Of course, not all bacteria are friendly. Helicobacter Prylori bacteria are the ones that cause chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers and even stomach cancer. H. Prylori may even be the most common cause of strokes that are caused by clogged blood vessels. Studies have found that 24.5% of all children are infected by H.Prylori before they are age 10. 84% of these children will stay infected through adulthood. The conclusion is that medicine can treat people with H. Pylori infections and significantly reduce their risk of a stroke.
- One of the major concerns in medicine today is the overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotics destroy both the good and the bad bacteria. And, bad bacteria can become immune to an antibiotic if it is not properly administered. That is why you are told when taking antibiotics take the full prescription over the full duration, regardless. You do not want any of those bad bacteria to survive and possible become immune to the medication.
- You get the energy in your body by the metabolism of bacteria and the enzymes that your cells produce. Enzymes are proteins produced inside the cells. Almost all chemical reactions inside the body get started by a particular enzyme. Also, other enzymes make chemical reactions run faster. Each human cell contains hundreds of enzymes. Enzymes and bacteria work together to produce the energy your body uses. But, where does that energy come from? It comes from stars.
- If your weight is 154 pounds, then:
-------------------------- 94.8 pounds of you is oxygen
-------------------------- 35.27 pounds is carbon
-------------------------- 15.43 pounds is hydrogen
-------------------------- 3.98 pounds is nitrogen
-------------------------- 2.20 pounds is calcium
-------------------------- 27.52 ounces is phosphorus
-------------------------- 4.94 ounces is potassium
-------------------------- 4.94 ounces is sulfur
-------------------------- 3.53 ounces is sodium
-------------------------- 3.35 ounces is chlorine
-------------------------- 0.67 ounces is magnesium
-------------------------- 0.15 ounces is iron
-------------------------- 0.09 ounces is fluorine
-------------------------- 0.08 ounces is zinc
-------------------------- 0.04ounces is silicon
- All the elements heavier than hydrogen were produced in planetary nebulae and supernovae explosions. The explosive power of dying stars creates the fusion to create these heavier elements we are made of. When metabolism breaks down these elements it releases the energy back to us. Our energy comes from the stars. Energy can not be created or destroyed. It can only be transformed from one from to another. But, there is always the same amount of total energy. When you convert food ( mostly carbon and oxygen ) into crap you are getting the energy back from the exploding stars. The stars death is your life. When someone asks you, “ Where did you get all that energy?” Just say, “ I got it from the stars in the heavens.” “Are you surprised?”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Wednesday, August 10, 2011
--------- #1288 - We are Immersed in Electromagnetic Radiation?
- Electromagnetic Radiation is going through your body all the time. The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation ranges from Radio Waves, Microwaves, Infrared, Light, Ultraviolet , X- Ray, and Gamma Rays. The waves either pass through you or reflect off of you. The part of the spectrum that reflects is your color. Sunlight is white light and contains all the colors from 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers wavelengths. Most of the radiation around us is this reflected sunlight. The part that is reflected is color and that all depends on the wavelength.
- The smaller the wavelength the more energy the radiation contains. Blue light has more energy than red light. X-Rays have more energy than Microwaves.
---------------------- Wavelength of red light = 0.0000007 meters
---------------------- Wavelength of blue light = 0.0000004 meters
- Your eyes can only detect that small range of wavelengths, 400 to 700 nanometers, billionths of a meter.
- Your ears can detect the sound waves that have wavelengths of 34 to 100 feet and velocities of 700 miles per hour. Sound waves are acoustic waves and are not electromagnetic waves.
- Your skin can detect infrared waves. Infrared electromagnetic waves that are thermal energy and the wavelengths are in the 0.0001 meter range, 100,000 nanometers.
- Radio waves are the least dangerous and have exceedingly long wavelengths.
------------- AM Radio has frequencies from 0.56 Megahertz to 1.62 MHz.
------------- wavelengths from 536 to185 meters
------------ wavelengths from 586 yards to 202 yards.
- An antenna is a quarter wavelength but that is still 140 to 50 yards. You can see why AM antenna towers are so tall.
-------------- FM Radio operates at 87.8 to 108 MHz
------------- wavelengths from 2.8 meters to 3.4 meters ( 9 to 11 feet) FM antennas can be much smaller.
------------- TV Broadcasts at 54 MHz to 698 MHz
-------------- wavelengths 0.4 to 5.5 meters
-------------- Cell Phones at 700 MHz and 1,900 MHz
------------------ wavelengths: 0.4 meters and 0.15 meters.
----------------- Cordless Phones at 900 MHz and 6,000MHz
------------------ wavelengths : 0.3 and 0.05 meters
----------------- Microwave ovens at 2,450 MHz
------------------ wavelengths: 0.12 meters
---------------- Satellite TV at 1,200 MHz
------------------- wavelengths: 0.25 meters
-----------------Wi-Fi is at 2,400 and 2,483 MHz
---------------- wavelengths: 0.12 meters
---------------- Bluetooth is at 2,402 and 2,480 MHz
--------------- wavelengths: 0.12 meters.
- All of these frequencies and wavelengths are passing through your body all the time. They travel with the speed through space at 670,633,500 miles per hour. They propagate through your body and all medium at slower speeds. The waves are always absorbed or reflected depending on their wavelength. Think of a boat on the water. Large waves pass by the boat but small waves splash of the side of the boat. The small waves get reflected and the large waves are unaffected as they pass by.
- Electromagnetic waves are carried by photons. Photons are massless, yet they have momentum. Momentum is mass times velocity. Yet photons have no mass. Where does the momentum come from? E = mc^2. Energy = mass * velocity * velocity . Energy = momentum * velocity. The energy and the momentum of the electromagnetic wave depends on the frequency and the wavelength of the wave.
----------------------- Momentum = 6.6*10^-34 / wavelength
----------------------- Energy = 6.6 *10^-34 * frequency
------------------------ 6.6*10^-34 is Planck’s Constant of Action, the action is the product of energy and time of a single photon.
- Radiation waves carry energy and momentum. That is what keeps stars from collapsing. Stars exist because of the balance between radiation pressure and gravity.
The nuclear fusion at the core of the Sun creates the radiation that is constantly pushing against gravity that is trying to collapse the star.
- The radiation that escapes the gravity and reaches Earth has the energy of 1,000 watts per square meter. That 1,000 watts of power is carried by an electric wave of 900 volts per meter and a magnetic wave that is 0.3*10^05 Tesla in amplitude. The two waves alternate and are perpendicular to each other. They oscillate sideways and not back and forth like sound waves.
- For comparison the amplitude of the 50,000 watt TV Broadcast station has an electric wave that is 0.02 volts per meter. Therefore, the Sunshine hitting you is 45,000 times more energy than the TV station’s electromagnetic energy.
- Electromagnetic waves are also particles, that is photons. Photons have a wave-particle duality.
- A 60 watt light bulb emits and electromagnetic wave, let’s put the wavelength at 590 nanometers. How many photons are emitted every second from the light bulb?
---------------The number of photons = Energy / 6.6*10^-34 * frequency
-------------- Frequency of 590 nanometers wavelength = 3*10^8 m/sec / 5.9*10^-7
-------------- Frequency = 0.51*10^15 cycles / second.
------------ Energy = 60 watts = 60 Joules / second.
--------------- The number of photons per second = 60 / (6.6*10^-34 * 0.51*10^15 )
------------ The number of photons per second = 1.8 * 10^20 per second
------------ The number of photons per second = 180,000,000,000,000,000,000 per second
- That is the number of photons hitting your body from the 60 watt light bulb ever second. No wonder you are so tired. It is a good thing that our eyes can see only a small part of the electromagnetic radiation that is hitting us. Otherwise, it would be way too much information. I am already overloaded with my cell phone. Who would have thought that a telephone call for a dime would turn into a smart phone for $100 a month. More evolution is on the way. An announcement will be made soon, stay tuned.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Monday, August 8, 2011
--------- #1286 - What Makes Electromagnetic Waves into Light?
- When studying electricity and magnetism science measured the forces and the relationships between charges and distances of separation. These forces behaved very similar to gravity but much stronger. When electric permittivity and magnetic permeability were defined it was discovered that the ratio of their product was the speed of light. That is how science discovered that light was an electromagnetic wave.
- Attachment - none
- When we look at the stars we are looking at electromagnetic waves. Light just happens to be that part of the electromagnetic spectrum our eyes are sensitive to. Our eyes are the result of evolutionary adaptation. The light just happens to be that part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is radiated strongest from the Sun and that range of wavelengths that pass through the Earth’s atmosphere the easiest.
- In most of astronomy what we see is black or white. When something emits or reflects all the colors it appears white to our eyes. If something absorbs all the colors it appears black. Gray is just somewhere in between. We see color when we can separate the wavelengths of light.
---------------------- 400 nanometers = blue
--------------------- 600 nanometers = yellow
--------------------- 700 nanometers = red
These colors are in this frequency range:
---------------------- 750,000,000,000,000 cycles per second = blue
--------------------- 500,000,000,000,000 cycles per second = yellow
--------------------- 429,000,000,000,000 cycles per second = red
- In astronomy we see black and white because we are working with low levels of light, our eyes are not sensitive enough to separate the colors and all the colors are combined.
- When we look at the Full Moon it is white on a black background. The light reflection from the Moon is 8 to 12 % depending on which direction you are looking from the Sun or from the Earth. The percentage of light reflected from an object is called the “albedo”.
Black paint has an albedo of between 5 and 10%. If you could move the Moon to an asphalt highway the two would closely match. The Moon only looks white because it is in the black background of space.
- Even the asteroid “Malhilde” that is blacker than tar at 3% appears white when photographed with the background of blacker space.
- Fresh snow has an abeldo of 90%. Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, is 93% so the surface appears as white as snow. The planet Venus’ abeldo is 67%. The reflection is due to the sulfuric acid in its atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere is 12% by comparison. Mercury is 11%. Jupiter is 50%. Mars is 16%.
- To further illustrate the tricks on the eyes take a black cat and a sheet of white paper. Sunlight is 450,000 times brighter than Moonlight. A sunlit black cat is 20,000 whiter that a moonlit white paper.
- The eyes are working with such a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is so great to be in astronomy today because we have instruments to detect the entire spectrum and computers to translate that data back into colors we can see. It is hard for us to believe that we are looking at electric and magnetic energy propagating through space.
- The velocity of propagation depends upon the permeability and permittivity of space
-------------------- v^2 = 1 / permeability * permittivity
- To illustrate how light and electricity and magnetism are interconnected lets begin defining these terms:
-------------------- Permeability = 4*pi *10^-7 Tesla * meters / Amperes
- Permeability is the ratio of magnetic flux density to the magnetic field strength
------------------- Permittivity = 8.8 * 10^-12 Columbs^2 / Newton * meters^2
- Permittivity is the ratio of electric displacement in a dielectric medium to the Electric Field strength. It is the degree to which the medium can resist the flow of electric charge.
- The velocity of electromagnetic wave propagation = v
-------------------- v^2 = 1 / ( 4*pi *10^-7) * (8.8 * 10^-12)
-------------------- v^2 = 9 *10^16 meters^2 / seconds^2
-------------------- v = 300,000,000 meters / second
- This is the velocity of light.
- To further illustrate this we should define some of the units of measurement for permittivity and permeability. An Ampere is the current in 2 long parallel wires of length (L) that are 1 meter apart such that the attractive force is (2*10^-7 Newtons / meter) * (L)
- When the force between 2 charges separated by 1 meter is equal to 9 *10^9 Newtons the charge of each is 1 Coulomb.
- The Electric Force between charges varies as the inverse square of the distance between them.
--------------------- F = proportional * 1 / r^2
The Electric Force depends on the amount of charge on the two objects.
-------------------- F = proportional * q1 * q2
- When things are proportional they can be made into an equality with the proper Constant of Proportionality. “k” is the Constant of Proportionality.
-------------------- Electric Force = k * q1 * q2 / r^2 Newtons
--------------------k = 1 / 4 * pi * permittivity
-------------------- Permittivity = 8.8 * 10^-12 Columbs^2 / Newton * meters^2
- Note that this equation for Electric Force is very similar for the equation for Gravity Force.
----------------------- F = G *m1*m2 / r^2
- We can compare the two forces for the electron and the proton:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------- Gravity Force = (6.7*10^-11 Newton * meters^2 / kilograms^2) * (9.1*10^-31 kilograms) * ( 1.7^10^-27 kilograms) / (5 *10^-11 meters)^2
------------------- Gravity Force = 4*10^-47 Newtons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------ Electric Force = k * q1 * q2 / r^2 Newtons
------------------Electric Force = (9*10^9 Newton * meters^2 / Coulombs^2) * (1.6*10^-19 Coulombs) * (1.6*10^-19 Coulombs) / ( 5*10^-11)^2 Newtons
----------------- Electric Force = 9 * 10^-8 Newtons
- The Electric Force is 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times more powerful than the Gravity Force. Why is Gravity so weak?
- Electromagnetic waves propagate through non-metallic matter as well. We have to replace the permittivity and permeability of free space with that of the material but the math remains the same. Example: Teflon permittivity = 21 Columbs^2 / Newton * meters^2
- To further illustrate how light is tied to electricity and magnetism let’s define some more of the units for permittivity and permeability:
---------- Tesla is a unit of magnetic flux density defined as 1 Weber or magnetic flux per square meter. A Weber is a unit of magnetic flux from a circuit of one turn of wire producing an electromotive force of one volt when the flux is reduced to zero in one second. A Volt is the electromotive force between two points on a conductor carrying current of 1 Ampere when the power dissipated is 1 Watt. An Ampere is a current carrying a charge of 1 Coulomb per second. A Watt is a unit of power of 1 Joule per second ( 1 horsepower = 746 Watts ). A Joule is a unit of work done by a force of 1 Newton moving an object 1 meter. Work is the change in Kinetic Energy. Kinetic Energy is mass times velocity divided by 2.
- It all boils down to energy. That is how the Universe started. As it expanded and cooled the energy froze out in many different forms. Energy can not be destroyed it just changes from one form to another as the Universe grows in complexity.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Thursday, August 4, 2011
--------- #1285 - How the Universe was Born?
- This review discusses the beginning of the Universe and how it evolves. New technology is teaches us more details. It is a simple process that grows in complexity. The evolution of life starts with this complexity and takes us to where we are today.
- Attachment - Big Bang
- As astronomers look at ever more distant objects they look backwards in time toward the birth of the Universe. The images they see are billions of years younger then they actually are today. It took billions of years for the light to reach us even though it was traveling at 670,633,500 miles per hour. Light had a lot of distance to cover in order to reach us.
- What we see in astronomy is always old information.
- How will astronomers know when they see the first objects that ever existed?
- The light itself did not escape the Big Bang for 380,000 years. The Universe was a fireball of hot plasma, charged fundamental particles, that did not let the light escape. The Universe expanded and cooled for 380,000 years until it was cool enough for neutral atoms to freeze out of the charged plasma. Protons and electrons slowed down enough to form neutral atoms. This is when the Cosmic Microwave Background first released its transparency. Up until that moment the plasma was opaque.
- We call it microwave but when light was first released it was high energy Gamma Rays. The high frequency, short wavelengths traveled through the expanding Universe and lost energy as wavelengths were stretched out longer and longer. The expanding space stretched the wavelengths out to the microwave wavelengths we see today. The temperature fell from 3,000 Kelvin to 3 Kelvin over that distance.
- By studying the slight temperature variations in the Cosmic Microwave Background astronomers can deduce that the first stars turned on 200,000,000 after the Big Bang.
- When the first galaxies formed they were extremely chaotic and closer together. They were irregular galaxies that experienced frequent collisions and mergers. The first galaxies were far different than the orderly spiral galaxies we have today.
- Before 380,000 years, before light was released, the Universe had an eerie, defused, blue-violet glow but no discrete sources of light. The make up of the Universe was mostly hydrogen nuclei, protons, When the Universe expanded and cooled to 3,000 Kelvin the protons captured the free electron and created the neutral hydrogen atom. Some helium existed as well as traces of deuterium (heavy hydrogen, or hydrogen atom with a neutron), lithium ( 3 protons), and beryllium ( 4 protons ).
- Dark Matter started to coalesce under gravity into small filaments that grew larger and larger. This became the skeletal scaffolding upon which the galaxies would form. Where Dark Matter filaments intersected a gravity sink hole formed. these sink holes compressed the gas and formed molecular hydrogen gas.
- Hydrogen molecules radiate energy more efficiently and cooled quickly. Dark clouds formed and cooled to 300 Kelvin. This cooling had the effect of separating the normal matter ( baryonic matter ) from Dark Matter. Dark Matter does not radiate electromagnetic energy. Each cold dark molecular cloud held 1,000,000 times Solar Mass in the size 1/1,000th the diameter of our galaxy.
- The relentless gravity squeezed the hydrogen into a denser and denser cloud that eventually formed helium nuclei. This was the birth of nuclear fusion and the first stars were born fusing hydrogen into helium.
- The stars were big and lived short lives. They died as supernovae forming every heavier elements up the Periodic Table of 100 different elements. The complexity of the Universe began.
- Most stars were giant stars greater than 100 Solar Mass. They lived only a few million years before exploding into supernovae. The core temperatures of these giant stars reached 10,000,000,000 Kelvin.
- Many of the supernovae explosions left Blackholes of 10 Solar Mass. Shock waves from the supernovae collided with surrounding gas clouds triggering additional star formation.
- Once the heavier elements filled the gas clouds in the interstellar space cooling became even more efficient and smaller stars the size of our Sun could form. They were ultra-blue stars with surface temperatures of 50,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.
- We say the early stars were ultra-blue but the wavelengths we see today are so stretched that they are in the infrared. In fact, so far into the infrared that the Hubble Space telescope does not have the instrumentation needed to see them We need the replacement , the Webb Space telescope, to see the stars in the 200,000,000 to 300,000,000 year era after the Big Bang.
- In 1990 ground based telescopes could see to 6,000,000,000 years old
- In 1995 Hubble Space Telescope could see to 1,500,000,000 years old.
- In 2004 the Hubble Ultra Deep Field could see to 800,000,000 years old.
- In 2010 the Hubble ultra Deep field Infrared could see to 480,000,000 years old.
- In ???? the Webb Space Telescope will see to 200,000,000 years old.
- A star like our Sun lives for billions of years. As it approaches death it begins to pulsate. The result is an expanding bubble called a Planetary Nebula that forms. Planetary Nebulae only live for 10,000 years before the gas dissipates and the core is reduced to a White Dwarf star.
- White Dwarfs are 0.5 to 1.4 Solar Mass and remain a carbon-oxygen ash slowly cooling in space for billions of years. White Dwarf diameters are about the size of the Earth. Astronomers have found and recorded about 1,500 of these White Dwarf stars in our galaxy.
- A higher mass star, >1.4 Solar Mass, has greater gravitational force compressing their core even hotter. These super hot cores fuse elements heavier and heavier up the element iron. Iron is the heaviest element nuclear fusion can create because heavier than iron and nickel the elements have to absorb energy to fuse rather than emit energy. It is the energy radiation in stars that fight gravity and keep them from collapsing.
- When larger mass stars try to fuse elements above iron the core collapses the electrons into protons creating neutrons. This collapse happens in stars in less than one second. The sudden collapse to the core results in a rebound sending a shockwave that tears through the in falling material. The resulting explosion is extremely bright, emitting 100 times more energy than our Sun will emit over its entire lifetime.
- If the inner core survives with a Solar Mass of 1.4 to 3.0 the remnant is a Neutron Star that collapses to a size 12 miles in diameter. The Neutron Star spins rapidly as it collapses and generates a strong magnetic field. Like an ice skater pulling in her arms in a spin the diameter of the star shrinks from 60,000,000 miles to 12 miles spinning faster and faster. Example: The Crab Nebula Neutron Star completes 30 rotations per second.
- If the inner core survives with a Solar Mass greater than 3.0 than its gravity overcomes even neutron degeneracy pressure and the neutrons collapse into a Blackhole. At the Blackholes event horizon the gravity is so immense that even light can not escape.
- So here is a summary of the Universe evolution to date:
------------- 0 years ------------------------ Big Bang ------------------------ Redshift 1000
------------ 17,000,000 years -------------- Universe is cold and dark ----- 90
------------ 100,000,000 years --------------1st stars are forming ------------- 30
------------200,000,000 years ------------- 2nd generation of stars begin forming the interstellar medium of supernovae debris. --------------------------------------- 20
----------- 500,000,000 years ------- 1st galaxies form with 2nd generation stars --10
------------9,000,000,000 years ---------- the solar system forms.--------------- 4
------------13,750,000,000 years ---------- you are reading this review -------- 0
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Tuesday, August 2, 2011
