IGCSE Physics CIE

6.2 Stars & The Universe

Mr. Hakeem PEES

IGCSE Physics CIE
6.2 Stars & The Universe
CONTENTS
6.2.1 The Sun as a Star
6.2.2 Stars
6.2.3 The Expanding Universe
6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
6.2.5 Hubble & The Age of the Universe
6.2.1 The Sun as a Star
The Sun
• The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System
• The Sun is a star which makes up over 99% of the mass of the solar system
• The fact that most of the mass of the Solar System is concentrated in the Sun is
the reason the smaller planets orbit the Sun
• The gravitational pull of the Sun on the planets keeps them in orbit
• The Sun is a medium sized star consisting of mainly hydrogen and helium
• It radiates most of its energy in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions of the
• electromagnetic spectrum
• Stars come in a wide range of sizes and colours, from yellow stars to red
dwarfs, from blue giants to red supergiants
• These can be classified according to their colour. Warm objects emit
infrared and extremely hot objects emit visible light as well.
• Therefore, the colour they emit depends on how hot they are
• A star's colour is related to its surface temperature
• A red star is the coolest (at around 3000 K)
• A blue star is the hottest (at around 30 000 K)
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6.2.1 The Sun as a Star
Nuclear Fusion in Stars
• In the centre of a stable star, hydrogen atoms undergo nuclear fusion to form
helium
• The equation for the reaction is shown here:
• A huge amount of energy is released in the reaction
• This provides a pressure that prevents the star from collapsing under its
gravity
• The fusion of deuterium and tritium to form helium with the release of
energy
An example of a hydrogen fusion reaction which takes place in stars is shown here. Which of the following is a
valid reason as to why hydrogen fusion is not currently possible on Earth?
 A Hydrogen fusion produces dangerous radioactive waste
 B Hydrogen nuclei require very high temperature to fuse together
 C Hydrogen is a rare element that would be difficult to get large amounts of
 D Hydrogen fusion does not produce enough energy to be commercially viable
ANSWER: B

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6.2.2 Stars
The Milky Way
• Galaxies are made up of billions of stars
• The Universe is made up of many different
galaxies
• The Sun is one of billions of stars in a galaxy
called the Milky Way
• Other stars in the Milky Way galaxy are
much further away from Earth than the Sun is
• Some of these stars also have planets which
orbit them

Our solar system is just one out of potentially billions in our

galactic neighborhood, the Milky Way. There are estimated to
be more than 100 billion galaxies in the entire universe

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6.2.2 Stars
Astronomical Distances

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6.2.2 Stars: Star Formation
1. Nebula
• All stars form from a giant interstellar cloud of hydrogen gas and dust called a nebula
2. Protostar
• The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer together until it forms a hot
• ball of gas, known as a protostar
• As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar will increase
• This will result in more frequent collisions between the particles which causes the temperature to increase
3. Main Sequence Star
• Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions occur within its core
• The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
• Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which keeps the core hot
• Once a star initiates fusion, it is known as a main-sequence star
• During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to be stable
• The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward pressure force from the fusion reactions
• Once a protostar is formed, its life cycle will depend on its mass The different life cycles are shown below

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 6.2.2 Stars: Star Formation
• Once a protostar is formed,
its life cycle will depend on
its mass
• The different life cycles are
shown below

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6.2.2 Stars: Life Cycle of Low Mass Stars
A low-mass star will go through the following stages

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6.2.2 Stars
4. Red Giant
• After several billion years the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in the star will begin to run out
• Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down. This causes the core to shrink and heat up
• The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity will become greater than the outward force due to
the pressure of the expanding gases as the fusion dies down
• A new series of reactions will then occur around the core, for example, helium nuclei will undergo fusion to form
beryllium. These reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand
• A low-mass star that is up to 8 times the mass of the Sun or smaller will become a red giant. It is red because the
outer surface starts to cool
5. Planetary Nebula
• Once this second stage of fusion reactions have finished, the star will become unstable and eject the outer layer of
dust and gas, The layer of dust and gas which is ejected is called a planetary nebula
6. White Dwarf
The core which is left behind will collapse completely, due to the pull of gravity, and the star will become a white dwarf,
The white dwarf will be cooling down and as a result, the amount of energy it emits will decrease
7. Black Dwarf
Once the star has lost a significant amount of energy it becomes a black dwarf It will continue to cool until it eventually
disappears from sight
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6.2.2 Stars: Life Cycle of High Mass Stars
A high-mass star will go through the following stages

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6.2.2 Stars- Life Cycle of High Mass Stars
4. Red Supergiant
• After several million years, the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in the star will begin to run out
• A high-mass star (one more than 8 times the mass of the Sun) will become a red supergiant
• Similar to a low-mass star, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down
• The core will go through a series of periods of shrinking and heating up
• As a result, the outer parts of the star will expand and contract
• This time, fusion reactions will form elements all the way up to iron
• Fusion reactions cannot continue once iron is formed
5. Supernova
• Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant cannot continue, the core of the star will collapse suddenly and cause a gigantic
explosion
• This is called a supernova
• At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
• The outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during the supernova explosion, forming new clouds of dust and gas
(nebula)
• The nebula from a supernova may form new stars with orbiting planets
6. Neutron Star (or Black Hole)
• In the case of the biggest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will continue to
• collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole
• A black hole is an extremely dense point in space that not even light can escape from
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 6.2.3 The Expanding Universe
Galaxies & Redshift
• Usually, when an object emits waves, the wavefronts spread out symmetrically
• If the wave source moves, the waves can become squashed together or
stretched out
• A moving object will cause the wavelength, λ, (and frequency) of the waves to
change:
• The wavelength of the waves in front of the source decreases and the
frequency increases
• The wavelength behind the source increases and the frequency decreases
• This effect is known as the Doppler effect
• The Doppler effect also affects light
• If an object moves away from an observer the wavelength of light increases
• This is known as redshift as the light moves towards the red end of the spectrum
• Redshift is:
An increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnet radiation emitted Light from a star that is moving towards an
from receding stars and galaxies observer will be blue shifted
and light from a star moving away from an
observer will be redshifted
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6.2.3 The Expanding Universe
The Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies that make up the Universe
Light emitted from distant galaxies appears redshifted when compared with
light emitted on Earth
The diagram below shows the light coming to us from a close object, such
as the Sun, and the light coming to us from a distant galaxy
The diagram also shows that the light coming to us from distant galaxies is
redshifted
The lines on the spectrum are shifted towards the red end
This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us
If the galaxies are moving away from us it means that the universe is
expanding
The observation of redshift from distant galaxies supports the Big Bang
theory

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6.2.3 The Expanding Universe

Another observation from looking at the light spectrums

produced from distant galaxies is that the greater the distance to
the galaxy, the greater the redshift
This means that the further away a galaxy, the faster it is
moving away from us

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang
• Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region
that was extremely hot and dense
• Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the Big Bang
• This caused the universe to expand from a single point, cooling as it does
so, to form the universe today
• Each point expands away from the others
• This is seen from galaxies moving away from each other, and the
further away they are the faster they move
• Redshift in the light from distant galaxies is evidence that the Universe is
expanding and supports the Big Bang Theory
• As a result of the initial explosion, the Universe continues to expand All galaxies are moving away from
each other, indicating that the
universe is expanding

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
• An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where the
balloon represents space and the points as galaxies
• When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close together
and an equal distance apart
• As the balloon expands, all the points become further apart
by the same amount. This is because the space itself has
expanded between the galaxies

A balloon inflating is similar to the

stretching of the space between galaxies

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
Redshift and CMBR
Evidence for the Big Bang
• The Big Bang theory is very well supported by evidence from a range of sources
• The main pieces of evidence are
1. Galactic red-shift
2. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

1. Evidence from Galactic Red-Shift

• Galactic redshift provides evidence for the Big Bang Theory and the expansion of the universe
• The diagram shows the light coming to us from a close object, such as the Sun, and the light coming to the Earth from a
distant galaxy
• Red-shift provides evidence that the Universe is expanding because:
• Red-shift is observed when the spectral lines from the distant galaxy move closer to the red end of the spectrum
• This is because light waves are stretched by the expansion of the universe so the wavelength increases (or
frequency decreases)
• This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us
• Light spectrums produced from distant galaxies are red-shifted more than nearby galaxies
• This shows that the greater the distance to the galaxy, the greater the redshift
• This means that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from the Earth
• These observations imply that the universe is expanding and therefore support the Big Bang Theory

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

Evidence from CMB Radiation

• The discovery of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) radiation led to the Big Bang theory becoming the currently
accepted model
• The CMB is a type of electromagnetic radiation which is a remnant from the early stages of the Universe
• It has a wavelength of around 1 mm making it a microwave, hence the name Cosmic Microwave Background
radiation
• In 1964, Astronomers discovered radiation in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum coming from all
directions and at a generally uniform temperature of 2.73 K
• They were unable to do this any earlier since microwaves are absorbed by the atmosphere
• Around this time, space flight was developed which enabled astronomers to send telescopes into orbit above the
atmosphere
• According to the Big Bang theory, the early Universe was an extremely hot and dense environment
• As a result of this, it must have emitted thermal radiation
• The radiation is in the microwave region
• This is because over the past 14 billion years or so, the radiation initially from the Big Bang has become redshifted
as the Universe has expanded
• Initially, this would have been high energy radiation, towards the gamma end of the spectrum
• As the Universe expanded, the wavelength of the radiation increased
• Over time, it has increased so much that it is now in the microwave region of the spectrum
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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
• The CMB radiation is very uniform and has the exact profile
expected to be emitted from ahot body that has cooled down
over a very long time
• This phenomenon is something that other theories (such as
the Steady State Theory) cannot explain
• The CMB is represented by the following map
• This is the closest image to a map of the observable Universe
• The different colours represent different temperatures
• The red / orange / brown regions represent warmer
temperature indicating a higher density of galaxies
• The blue regions represents cooler temperature indicating a
lower density of galaxies
• The temperature of the CMB radiation is mostly uniform,
however, there are minuscule temperature fluctuations (on
the order of 0.00001 K)
• This implies that all objects in the Universe are more or less
uniformly spread out
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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory
Measuring Galactic Speed & Distance

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6.2.5 Hubble & The
Age of the Universe

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

Astronomers have used this formula to

estimate the age of the Universe at about
13.7 billion
years

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6.2.4 The Big Bang Theory

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The End