--------- #1407 - Space is Anything But Empty?
- Attachments :
- The whole Universe is mostly “space”. We tend to say “ empty space” But, the Universe is anything but empty.
- The stars use their nuclear furnaces to produce all of the 90 natural elements. When the star dies it goes either supernova or planetary nebula, depending on the size of the star, and the explosions spread the elements all over space.
- The nuclear fusion starts with the element hydrogen which is one proton and one electron. The hydrogen fuses into helium, the helium fuses into oxygen, the oxygen in to carbon and so on right up the Periodic Table of Elements. Gold has 80 protons and 80 electrons. Uranium has 92 protons and 92 electrons.
- Whenever an atom is short an electron it has a net positive charge. Whenever an atom has an extra electron it has a negative charge. Free electrons are negative charges and free atomic nuclei carry a positive charge. We call the positive nuclei ions.
- Whenever an electric charge is in motion it creates an electric field. Whenever an charge is in motion it also creates a magnetic field. Everything in the Universe is in constant motion. Space is full of electric charges in motion therefore it is full of electric fields and magnetic fields. Light is electromagnetic radiation. Its motion has only one speed, 300,000,000 meters per second.
- Motion itself is energy. It is called Kinetic Energy. Space itself is in motion, but, a different kind of motion, it is expanding at 74,200 meters per second per 3.26 million lightyears. We call this anti-gravity energy of expansion Dark Energy. Dark Energy makes up 73% of all the mass-energy in the Universe. We don’t know what it is? Most of the 27% of matter is Dark Matter. We don’t know what that is either? The 4% of Ordinary Matter that we understand is mass that has lots of energy. E=m*c^2. The energy in mass is equal to mass times 90,000,000,000,000,000 meters^2 / second^2. Energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared.
- Ordinary mass and energy and Dark Matter create gravitational fields that collapse space. Dark Energy creates anti-gravitational fields that expand space. So, space is full of this stuff. Kinetic energy, electric energy, magnetic energy, thermal energy, nuclear energy, gravitational potential energy, electromagnetic energy, and mass which is also energy.
- The world we know and love occupies only 4% of this stuff. We call it Ordinary Matter. It is made of protons and electrons and electromagnetic energy. This Ordinary stuff creates chemistry out of the 90 elements. It also creates the biology, but, how we get from chemistry to biology is still a mystery. The 90 elements get together to form molecules, compounds, gases, liquids, and solids that we do know.
- Astronomy to me is really the study of the Universe. The big picture. There is a lot to learn. There is chemistry in space. Elements binding together. H2O is hydrogen and oxygen binding together. It is called a covalent bond when two atoms share the same electrons. Ionic bonds are when positive ions connect with negative ions. Sodium connects with chlorine to become salt. Metallic bonds like iron collect atoms in a bond that lets their outer electrons roam freely between the bonds. Electrons in motion is electricity. All this is chemistry
- Hot gas leaving the surface of the star cools down. Atomic nuclei combine with free electrons to form ions and atoms. Atoms begin combining with molecules which eventually become the dust that is in space.
- Here are the most abundant elements in space gas and dust: hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron.
- Particles of dust in an interstellar gas cloud are in very low density. A near perfect vacuum on Earth would have one particle per cubic centimeter. Interstellar gas might have one particle in 40 cubic miles. This would be space gas that is not influenced by gravity. Gravity starts pulling stuff together. Density increases. Pressure and temperature increases. This can reverse the chemistry process turning the atoms back into ions and free electrons. When gravity collapses things further atoms enter the state of plasma where they are no longer atoms. This gets past chemistry and into the realm of particle physics. We won’t go there.
- The accretion disks that surround stars contain planets, comets, asteroids, and again the process can be reversed. Atoms form, elements form, dust forms. Chemistry again takes hold of the environment. Planets in other solar systems have been found to possess water, carbon dioxide, and organic molecules. So it is not just here that chemistry is happening it is happening all over the Universe. The fun question remains. How about biology? Is that happening all over the Universe as well. Space is full of this stuff. You can not say it is empty. An announcement will be made shortly, stay tuned.
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707-536-3272, Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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