lecture 9: light the messenger astronomy 1143 spring 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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Lecture 9: Light the Messenger
Astronomy 1143 Spring 2014
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Key IdeasElectromagnetic spectrum
Energy, wavelength, frequency
Spectrum - amount of light at each wavelength
Nature of light – wave – particle (photon)
Speed of light is a constant for all observers• Surprising! Postulate of Special Relativity• But confirmed by observations• We see distant objects as they were
A light-year is distance light travels in 1 year
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Light the MessengerAlmost all information we receive about the Universe comes
in the form of light
Before discussing the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, the distances to nearby galaxies and the expansion of the Universe, we need to get some facts under our belts• How to tell if a star is like the Sun
• Temperature• Absorption lines
• Light has a wavelength, which can be stretched or squeezed
• How knowing brightness and luminosity = distance• Light is special – start of Special Relativity
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Electromagnetic Radiation
Light is Electromagnetic Radiation.• Self-propagating Electromagnetic disturbance
that carries energy at the speed of light.
Two ways to describe light:• Electromagnetic Waves
• Photons (particles of light)
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Light is a Wave
Wave = a periodic fluctuation traveling through a medium.
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Ocean wave = fluctuation in height of
water.
Sound wave = fluctuation in pressure.
Electromagnetic wave = fluctuation in electric
and magnetic fields.
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Oscillating Electric & Magnetic Fields
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Wavelength ()
Frequency (f) (# waves/second)
Speed (c)
c = f
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Wavelength ()
Frequency (f) (# waves/second)
Speed (c)
c = f
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Different than water waves
If you run into the waves, the wavelength stays the same, but the frequency will increase – speed increases
Most waves need a medium
But light doesn’t need a medium
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum
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←medical X rays
←microwave oven
←tanning rays
←cell phones←WOSU FM
←WOSU AM
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Waves show diffraction
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Example of sea waves & diffraction
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Waves vs. Particles
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Proof that light is a wave
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Radio Waves Diffract!
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Photons: Particles of Light
Can also treat light as particles or Photons.
Photon:Massless particle that carries energy at the
speed of light.
Photon Energy:
E = hff = frequency of the lighth = Planck’s Constant
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Light is made of particles.
Light shows some properties of particles, such as the photoelectric effect.
Photons kick electrons out of atoms, if they
have enough energy.
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Proof that light is a particle
Individual X-ray photons
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Wave or particle?
Both
Light has properties of both waves and a stream of particles. It follows the rules of quantum mechanics
Other quantum mechanical particles include the electron, proton and neutron
Electrons are not just particles! They also show diffraction.
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Why describe light by both?
Important to think about light as a wave:• Stretching of wavelengths
Important to think about light as a particle:• Knocking electrons off of atoms• Force carrier – part of the Standard
Model of Particle Physics
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Sequence of photon energies from low to high is called the Electromagnetic Spectrum
low energy = low frequency= long wavelengthExamples:
Radio Waves, Microwaves, Infrared
high energy=high frequency=short wavelengthExamples:
Ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma Rays
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Photons as Dogs
Low energyLong wavelengthLow frequency
High energyShort wavelengthHigh frequency
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Most objects emit more than one wavelength of light
Our eyes and brain report one color of light, the dominant color
Primary colors for mixing light – red, green and blue
If all colors of visible light are about equally represented – white light
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What is a Spectrum?
A spectrum is the distribution of photon energies emitted by a light source:• Asks: how many photons of each energy
are emitted?
Spectra are observed by passing light through a spectrograph:• Breaks light into its component colors.• Uses either prisms or diffraction gratings.
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SpectrumPrism
WhiteLight
Prisms disperse light into its component colors
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In Class Demo
Gratings and white light
Lasers
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The Beginnings of RelativitySpeed of light is a constant for all light waves
or photons:
c = 299,792.458 km/secIndependent of wavelength or frequency.
It also doesn’t matter how fast the light source is moving or how fast the observer is moving.
Light very different than other waves
Light is special
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Common Sense, But Incorrect, Ideas
Time is absolute: The time between two events is independent of the observer. Events are always in the same order.
Space is absolute: The distance between two events is independent of the observer.
Speeds are relative: How fast something is moving depends on how fast you are moving
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Test: Michelson-Morley experimentMichelson-Morley experiment showed that
light is different
They attempted to measure the change in the speed of light as the Earth moved around the Sun through “the ether”
They found that the speed of light did not change
Experimental results helped lead to a new theory
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Relative Velocities
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -50 mph
50 mph
50 mph
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Relative VelocitiesPerson standing on the edge of the road:
Two cars going 50 mph to the left
One car going 50 mph to the right
Cars in the top lanes
One car going 0 mph
One car going 100 mph to the right
One person going 50 mph to the right
Car in bottom lane
Two cars going 100 mph to the left
1 person going 50 mph to the left
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Einstein’s Revolution
1905: Proposed his Theory of Special RelativityAccepted the experimental work on the speed of light and the nature of electromagnetic wavesNow the speed of light was absolute and time and space were relative
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Consequence: A Real Speed LimitImagine that you start running at the same time your friend turns on a flashlight. You are racing a beam of light. Can you win?
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0.99 c 0.99 c
Galactica sees the photons arriving at speed c
- - - - - - - - - - -
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Consequence: A Real Speed LimitYou cannot win!
Both you and your friend will measure the speed of light to be the same.
No matter how fast you go, the light will always be traveling at 2.9979x108 m/s relative to you
It will beat you to the end every time
Nothing can travel faster than light
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If the Sun stopped shining, when would we know about it?
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Lookback TimeThe fact that there is a cosmic speed limit is both good & badcan’t visit galaxiesHave a “time machine” because we see distant things as they were a long time ago.
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Looking Back in Time
If we know how many lightyears away something is, we know how far back in
time we are looking