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Collett Litchard
David Schaffer
Phys-1010-048-Sp14
April 10, 2014
Four Part Signature Assignment
Part One:
Star Identification for four of the stars in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, also
known as the Northern Cross (Wikepedia, Cygnus (constellation), 2014). Information is found in the
attached table, including name, star type, distance from the Earth, luminosity, surface temperature and
related notes. As a point of reference our Sun, a yellow dwarf, has a surface temperature of 5,700
Kelvin, a visual magnitude of 4.79 and is 8.9 minutes from Earth, if traveling at the speed of light
(Mitton, pp. 333-334).
Deneb
Sadr
Rukh
Albireo
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Star name(s)
Deneb, α
Alpha Cygni
Albireo, β
Beta Cygni
Sadr, γ
Gamma Cygni
Rukh, δ
Delta Cygni
Yellow-White
Supergiant
Blue-White
Giant
430 Light Years
1,800 Light
Years
165 Light Years
3.2 / 5.4
Magnitude
2.23 Magnitude
3rd Magnitude
4,000 / 12,000
Kelvin
5,800 Kelvin
9,800 Kelvin
Yellow-Orange
Type of Star(s) White Supergiant Giant / Bluish BStar
Approx. Dist. 2,600 Light
From Earth Years
Luminosity 1st Magnitude
Approx. Surface
8,500 Kelvin
Temperature
Notes
Arabic name
means “tail”
(Mitton, pp. 8085) (Murdin &
Citations
Penston, p. 118)
Made up of two
stars too close to
be separated in a
telescope
(Mitton, pp. 8085) (Murdin &
Penston, p. 9)
Because it’s
obscured by
interstellar dust,
it’s ½ magnitude
less bright.
(Mitton, pp. 8085) (Wikepedia,
Gamma Cygni,
2014) (Kaler,
2014)
Triple Star
System
(Mitton, pp. 8085) (Wikepedia,
Delta Cygni,
2014)
Part Two: Equation Analysis of four common equations used in elementary physics.
Equation 1: E=mc2
“E” in the equation is energy, which is a variable that is dependent on the mass of an object.
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“m” in the equation is the mass of the object in question. When mass is discussed, it means the
resistance to a change in movement (Hewitt, pp. 54-55). Like energy, it is a variable. Mass increases as
speed increases.
“c” in the equation is the speed of light and is the only constant in the equation, but it is not an easy
number to wrap the brain around. The speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. The square of
the speed of light is expressed as 8.98755179 × 1016 m2 / s2 (Google Search, 2014). It’s fair to say that
the size of c2 is nearly mind boggling.
Are mass and energy related? Absolutely they are! As stated above, energy is directly affected by the
mass of an object. As an object increases in speed, up to its maximum velocity, or the speed of light it’s
mass, or resistance to change, grows. When the amount of mass an object has gets larger, energy is
increased relative to the change in mass.
The statement “if it is possible to change mass into energy a little bit of mass could produce a lot of
energy” holds true because of the enormous size of the speed of light. So the smallest particle with just
a minute amount of mass would still equate to a huge amount of energy, more than most humans can
reasonably fathom (Elser, 2014).
Equation 2: d=gt2/2
In this equation, “d” is the distance an object falls when released from rest, ignoring air resistance, “g”
is the acceleration of gravity at the Earth’s surface and “t” is the time the object has been falling. This
equation shows that the statement “heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects” is untrue because the
acceleration due to gravity is a relative constant regardless of weight (see equation 3 analysis for further
explanation on the constant or variable nature of “g”). For this equation analysis, it has to be accepted
that this is the way gravity works, all objects accelerate at a constant rate due to the pull of gravity on the
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given object (Hewitt, 41-44). Therefore, the correct statement would be the following: “objects fall at
the same speed (if there is no air resistance) and weight doesn’t matter.”
Equation 3: v=gt
This equation is similar to the last one in that the relative constant of “g” is again, the acceleration of
gravity at the Earth’s surface, and “t”, which is a variable, is still the time an object has been falling.
The “v” in this equation is the velocity of a falling object if released from rest, assuming there is no air
resistance. Using our equation v=gt, we can prove the statement “heavy objects fall faster than lighter
objects” as incorrect. Weight is irrelevant in this equation. To find the velocity of an object, you must
only consider the acceleration of gravity for that object and the time the object falls. “g” is said to be a
relative constant because it can be a variable dependent on where in the universe (or on Earth) the object
is. For all intents and purposes in this analysis we will consider it a constant.
For most of human history, it was assumed that heavy objects always and naturally fall faster than
lighter objects. That is because it wasn’t understood how air drag on an object can create a net force that
causes acceleration to be less than “g”. Heavier objects must fall faster to compensate for the greater air
resistance (Hewitt, pp. 58-60). In the feather and hammer experiment done on the moon as seen in the
video link below, a near vacuum was available on the surface of the moon that demonstrates how taking
away air resistance allows the acceleration of gravity to “pull” both the hammer and the feather to the
surface of the moon in the same amount of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCoU0NHxAp8
Weight can be defined as the gravitational force two objects exert on one another. The greater the mass
an object has the more gravitational force it exerts on the other object and vice versa. This is different
than the acceleration of gravity in a given gravity field. Within that gravity field, all objects, regardless
of weight, fall at the same speed, in the absence of air resistance. A 150 lb. person on Earth would
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weigh less on the moon because of the gravitational differences due to the differences of mass between
the Earth and the Moon. He weighs more on Earth because the Earth has a greater mass than the Moon.
Because the moon has about 1/6 the gravitational pull on the person, he would only weigh about 25 lbs.
on the Moon (Whitehouse, 2014). However, he would accelerate in free fall at the same rate as a feather
on both Earth and the Moon, taking away air resistance on Earth. This explains why there is a
difference in the applied forces.
Equation 4: e=1-Tcold/Thot
The “e” in this equation is the efficiency of energy use, the “Tcold” represents the temperature of the
environment surrounding the heat engine and “Thot” is the internal operating temperature of that heat
engine.
Theoretically the only way to reach 100% efficiency is to maintain the surrounding environment, or
Tcold, at a temperature to absolute zero, or 0 Kelvin. However, this is theory only and not practical in the
real world. So there is no way to achieve 100% efficiency in practice.
What about the possibility of achieving 100% efficiency if the Thot temperature were raised? Again, in
theory, the only way to achieve this would be to maintain the Tcold at 0 Kelvin. It would never be
possible to have 100% efficiency in any heat engine in the real world; partly this is due to the materials
we currently have to work with. The melting points of most materials in use, would not allow much
more efficiency. Ceramic engines are being considered because of their heat resistance properties.
Even with ceramic engines, 100% efficiency could not be achieved.
There are no fuels that could be used to achieve 100% efficiency either. It may sound redundant, but it
is not possible, other than theoretically, to have a car that could maintain 0 Kelvin in the environment
surrounding the heat engine. Some of the heat from the burning of the fuel would be converted into
mechanical energy and some would be expelled into the surrounding environment. The First Law of
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Thermodynamics states that when heat flows from one system to another, the systems either gain or lose
energy equal to the transfer of heat. There is a conservation of energy between the two systems, either
by heat or mechanical work. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that there cannot be heat
transferred from a colder system to a hotter system without work from an outside source (Hewitt, pp.
316-325).
Part Three: Explanation of one of the Laws of Physics learned in this class with an explanation of
what it is and what it means with 3 examples in the real world.
The Principle of Flotation states that when an object is placed in a liquid, the weight of the object
displaces an equal amount of fluid relative to the weight of the object (Hewitt, pp. 236-237). So if a ten
pound log is placed in a swimming pool that is filled to the brim, the water that would overflow would
be equal to 10 lbs.
Real life example #1
Baby Elephant in Zoo Pool
If a baby elephant, weighing 200 pounds completely submerses himself in his 50 gallon wading pool at
the zoo on a hot summer day (assuming he could and would), the displacement of water would be equal
to his weight. That means 200 pounds of water would overflow and the baby elephant would be left
with approximately half of the water he started with, if the pool was filled to the brim to begin with. A
gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. The baby elephant would displace about 24 gallons of water.
Real life example #2
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Typical Fish Farm Pond
As fish at a fish farm are introduced to a new pond, the pond level rises relative to the amount of fish
that are stocked in that pond. This means that if the fish farmer puts 1,000 fish weighing 1 lb. each into
this new breeding pond and he wants to maintain the same water level as he previously had, he would
need to remove almost 120 gallons of water. Depending on how big the pond is, the water level may
only raise a negligible amount, so the farmer may choose to leave all the water in the pond.
Real life example #3
Diagram of Floating Continental Plate
The continental plates on the Earth’s surface float on a bed of viscous mantle. They float at a an
elevation that is relative to their total mass. If you could somehow slice off a layer equal to half the
thickness of one of the tectonic plates, it would then rise by the amount you removed. The elevation
would not change.
Part Four: Explanation of and Four Possible Resolutions to Fermi’s Paradox.
Explanation: Enrico Fermi was a prominent physicist in the early half of the 20th century. Mid-1950 he
was having lunch with some colleagues and discussing the possibility of alien life forms. It is reported
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that Fermi asked his lunch companions “Where is everybody”, meaning where are all the other
intelligent life forms in the universe and why haven’t we made contact with them. According to
calculations done by Fermi, the inhabitants of the earth should not be alone in the universe. The paradox
lies in the calculations. Assuming his calculations are correct, then the earth should have made contact
on many occasions with extraterrestrial life forms. The equation to explain the possibility of other
intelligent life in the universe is as follows: N=RfpneflfifcL. This equation is known as the Drake
Equation, after astrophysicist Frank Drake, who created it to start a dialogue for a SETI conference in
1961. “N” is the number of communicating life forms. “R” is rate at which stars form in our universe
each year. “fp” is the fraction of stars that have planets orbiting them. “ne” represents the number of life
sustaining planets. “fl” is the fraction of planets on which life actually evolves. “fi” portrays the fraction
of life forms that develop intelligence. “fc” denotes the number of intelligent life forms that have the
ability to communicate through space with us. And finally “L” gives us the yearly time each of these
intelligent, stellar communicating, extraterrestrials would devote to making contact with us. All these
factors are unknown, but can be given reasonable estimates. If we actually were to figure out the values
of each factor, we could then multiply all these factors together to get an estimate of “N”, or how many
talkative aliens are out there (Webb, pp. 17-22). So, where IS everybody?
Enrico Fermi
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Possible Resolution #1 We are the First
It is entirely possible that mankind here on Earth is the first species to evolve into intelligent beings that
have developed the technology needed to communicate interstellarly. Though there are some galaxies
with Sun-like stars, some even older than our Solar System, we do not have the current ability to know if
any rocky planets like Earth exist in them. The planetary system named 47 Ursae Majoris is chemically
similar to our own Solar System, albeit a much older system and has comparable planetary objects
orbiting a Sun-like structure. Our calculations, however, have not proven there to be any Earth-like
planets in that system. That does not mean they do not exist, merely that we do not have the proof that
they actually do. If we are in our youth cosmically speaking, we just may be the first intelligent
population, where others are still in their infancy (Webb, pp. 153-155).
Ursa Majoris Spiral Galaxy
Possible Resolution #2 We are Too Far Away to See Each Other
Because the Universe is billions of years old and expanding exponentially, we may be so far away from
our extraterrestrial neighbors that no matter how fast we travel, we will never reach them. With our
current technology, humans are unable to travel safely at the speed of light. It would take a space craft
traveling at the speed of light 4.22 light years to reach our nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri.
That doesn’t seem very long when put in those terms. Consider the speed of light. It travels at nearly
300,000 km per second in a vacuum such as space. Until we develop more advanced technology that
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will allow humans to travel at or near the speed of light, we have no chance of visiting neighbors, even if
we could prove they were out there (Webb, pp. 62-65).
Possible Resolution #3 They Are More Advanced Than Us and Have Already Visited Us
There have been many speculations that Stonehenge, the Nasca Lines, Crop Circles and many other
various UFO sightings prove that the aliens have already visited us. Maybe they found our solar system
millions of years ago before intelligent human life developed and have since moved on to find intelligent
life elsewhere. It’s entirely possible that because they are so far advanced, they continually visit us and
have a prime directive not to meddle in our society. If this is the case, we may never know if they are
here or not. Until we have empirical proof of them visiting or communicating with us, all this is mere
speculation (Webb, pp. 33-43).
Possible Resolution #4 God is the Ultimate Physicist
What if God exists and he really is the creator of the universe? Some speculations suggest that
extraterrestrial life is so intelligent and so far advanced that they have discovered what we in theory term
the ‘theory of everything”, the theory that unifies all the forces. If a being of super intelligence has
passed that portal and can now use his knowledge to create universes, we may be the creation of that ET
and he in every sense would be our God. We just may be the petri dish experiment of some ultimate
physicist. He may be looking down the lens of some celestial microscope observing His life-creating
experiment. God just may be the ultimate physicist (Webb, pp. 55-59).
Math is the Mind of God
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Works Cited
Elser, Veit. Einstein’s relativity theory: The key is the c-squared. Published: 9 January 2013. Web. 9
April 2014. http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/?quid=590
Google Search. Speed of Light. Web. 10 April 2014.
https://www.google.com/search?q=c+squared&oq=c+squared&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.2815j0j4
&sourceid=chrome&espv=2&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8
Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics: Eleventh Edition, St. Petersburg: Addison Wesley, 2010. Print.
Mitton, Jacqueline. Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Astronomy, New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2007. Print.
Murdin, Paul & Penston, Margaret. The Firefly Encyclopedia of Astronomy, Buffalo: Firefly, 2004.
Print.
Webb, Stephen. If the Universe is Teeming With Aliens...Where is Everybody?: Fifty Solutions to the
Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life, New York; Praxis, 2002. Print.
Wikepedia. Cygnus (constellation). /http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_(constellation)/, Web. 9 April
2014.
Wikepedia. Gamma Cygni. Web. 9 April 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Cygni
Wikepedia. Delta Cygni. Web. 9 April 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Cygni
Kaler, Jim. SADR (Gamma Cygni). (9/4/98; Revised 11/30/12). Web. 9 April 2014.
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sadr.html
Whitehouse, Moira. Mass As A Physical Property. Web. 9 April 2014.
http://www.slideshare.net/MMoiraWhitehouse/mass-as-a-physical-property
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Image Citations
Baby Elephant in Zoo Pool. baby_asian_elephant_playing_in_pool_by damselstock. Web. 10 April
2014.
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/184/e/0/baby_asian_elephant_playing_in_pool_by_damsels
tock-d6bgmll.jpg
Diagram of Floating Continental Plate. Content Center (Lesson #1)The Earth's layers. Web. 10 Apr
2014. http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/education/vwlessons/lessons/Ch1CMB/Content1.html
Enrico Fermi. "Enrico Fermi - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 10 Apr
2014. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/fermi-bio.html
Math is the Mind of God. Michio Kaku. Math is the Mind of God. 29 December 2012. Web. 10
April 2014. http://bigthink.com/dr-kakus-universe/math-is-the-mind-of-god
Typical Fish Farm Pond. Agro Vidarbha, Fish Farming. Web. 10 Apr 2014.
http://www.shetkarimitra.co.in/eagribiz2.html
Ursa Majoris Spiral Galaxy. “National Geographic Daily News”. Fuzzy Wuzzy Galaxy. Published 24
February 2011. Web. 10 April 2014.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110224-best-space-pictures-sciencesolar-flare-shuttle-launch-133/