Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Concept explainers
Textbook Question
Chapter 16, Problem 33E
In fact, the conversion of mass to energy in the Sun is not 100% efficient. As we have seen in the text, the conversion of four hydrogen atoms to one helium atom results in the conversion of about 0.02862 times the mass of a proton to energy. How much energy in joules does one such reaction produce? (See Appendix E for the mass of the hydrogen atom, which, for all practical purposes, is the mass of a proton.)
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionStudents have asked these similar questions
A nuclear fusion reaction in the Sun converts 4 H nuclei to 1 He-4 nucleus. Each Hydrogen nuclei is 1.007825u (an atomic mass unit); one Helium nucleus is 4.00268u. What is the mass lost in the process (in u)? What is the % of the original mass?
Write down the equation that determines the energy produced in this process. Calculate the energy created from 1 kilogram of hydrogen fused. (with units kg & m/s, answer will be Joules)
The Sun’s luminosity (or power) is 4 x 1026 Watts (=J/s). How many kilograms of hydrogen must be fused every second to maintain this luminosity? (hint: work backwards from the energy per second to the mass released to the amount of hydrogen required, using the results from the previous question.)
The Sun’s mass is ~2x1030 kg. If 10% of this is Hydrogen available in the core, how long will the Sun be able to continue fusing hydrogen at this rate? This is considered the Sun's "lifetime". If the Sun is 4.6 billion years old (and assuming it's power…
The sun produces energy via nuclear fusion at the rate of 4x10 J/s. Based on the proposed overall fusion
equation, how long will the sun shine in years before it exhausts its hydrogen fuel? (Assume that there are 365
days in the average year.)
Express your answer to one significant figure and include the appropriate units.
Our Sun shines bright with a luminosity of 3.828 x 1026 Watt. Her energy is responsible for manyprocesses and the habitable temperatures on the Earth that make our life possible.(a) Calculate the amount of energy arriving on the Earth in a single day.(b) To how many litres of heating oil (energy density: 37.3 x 106J/litre) is this equivalent?(c) The Earth reflects 30% of this energy: Determine the temperature on Earth’s surface.(d) What other factors should be considered to get an even more precise temperature estimate?
Chapter 16 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 16 - How do we know the age of the Sun?Ch. 16 - Explain how we know that the Sun’s energy is not...Ch. 16 - What is the ultimate source of energy that makes...Ch. 16 - What are the formulas for the three steps in the...Ch. 16 - How is a neutrino different from a neutron? List...Ch. 16 - Describe in your own words what is meant by the...Ch. 16 - Two astronomy students travel to South Dakota. One...Ch. 16 - What do measurements of the number of neutrinos...Ch. 16 - Do neutrinos have mass? Describe how the answer to...Ch. 16 - Neutrinos produced in the core of the Sun carry...
Ch. 16 - What conditions are required before proton-proton...Ch. 16 - Describe the two main ways that energy travels...Ch. 16 - Someone suggests that astronomers build a special...Ch. 16 - Earth contains radioactive elements whose decay...Ch. 16 - The Sun is much larger and more massive than...Ch. 16 - A friend who has not had the benefit of an...Ch. 16 - Which of the following transformations is (are)...Ch. 16 - Why is a higher temperature required to fuse...Ch. 16 - Earth’s atmosphere is in hydrostatic equilibrium....Ch. 16 - Explain what it means when we say that Earth’s...Ch. 16 - What mechanism transfers heat away from the...Ch. 16 - Suppose you are standing a few feet away from a...Ch. 16 - Give some everyday examples of the transport of...Ch. 16 - Suppose the proton-proton cycle in the Sun were to...Ch. 16 - Do you think that nuclear fusion takes place in...Ch. 16 - Why is fission not an important energy source in...Ch. 16 - Why do you suppose so great a fraction of the...Ch. 16 - Explain how mathematical computer models allow us...Ch. 16 - Estimate the amount of mass that is converted to...Ch. 16 - How much energy is released when a proton combines...Ch. 16 - The Sun converts 4109 kg of mass to energy every...Ch. 16 - Assume that the mass of the Sun is 75% hydrogen...Ch. 16 - In fact, the conversion of mass to energy in the...Ch. 16 - Now suppose that all of the hydrogen atoms in the...Ch. 16 - Models of the Sun indicate that only about 10% of...Ch. 16 - Show that the statement in the text is correct:...Ch. 16 - Every second, the Sun converts 4 million tons of...Ch. 16 - Raymond Davis Jr.’s neutrino detector contained...
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
Find more solutions based on key concepts
A constant electric field generally produces a constant drift velocity. How is this consistent with Newtons ass...
Essential University Physics: Volume 2 (3rd Edition)
The semiconductor chip at the heart of a personal computer is a square 4 mm on a side and contains 1010 electro...
Essential University Physics: Volume 1 (3rd Edition)
A positive point charge q lies at the center of a spherical conducting shell carrying net charge 32q. Sketch th...
Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
8. Josh is climbing up a steep 34° slope, moving at a steady 0.75 m/s along the ground. How many meters of elev...
College Physics: A Strategic Approach (3rd Edition)
25. The cylindrical space station in Figure Q6.25, 200 m in diameter, rotates in order to provide artificial gr...
College Physics: A Strategic Approach (4th Edition)
The pV-diagram of the Carnot cycle.
Sears And Zemansky's University Physics With Modern Physics
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Using data from Potential Energy of a System (http://cnx.org/content/m58312/latest/#fs-id1165036086155) , calculate the amount of mass converted to energy by the fusion of 1.00 kg of hydrogen. (b) What is the ratio of mass destroyed to the original mass, (c) How does this compare with for the fission of 1.00 kg of uranium?arrow_forwardOn Dec 5, 2022, scientific history was made at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California when nuclear fusion was achieved when the 192 lasers deposited about 2 Megajoules (MJ) of energy into a frozen pea sized deuterium-tritium pellet and ignited the pellet through nuclear fusion to release 3 MJ of energy. The metric prefix mega means million (10^6). a) How much mass (kg) would be required to release 1 MJ of energy?arrow_forwardOur Sun shines bright with a luminosity of 3.828 x 1026 Watt. Her energy is responsible for many processes and the habitable temperatures on the Earth that make our life possible. (a) Calculate the amount of energy arriving on the Earth in a single day. (b) To how many litres of heating oil (energy density: 37.3 x 106 J/litre) is this equivalent?arrow_forward
- Our Sun shines bright with a luminosity of 3.828 x 1026 Watt. Her energy is responsible for many processes and the habitable temperatures on the Earth that make our life possible. (a) Calculate the amount of energy arriving on the Earth in a single day. (b) To how many litres of heating oil (energy density: 37.3 x 10° J/litre) is this equivalent? (c) The Earth reflects 30% of this energy: Determine the temperature on Earth's surface. (d) What other factors should be considered to get an even more precise temperature estimate? Note: The Earth's radius is 6370 km; the Sun's radius is 696 x 103 km; 1 AU is 1.495 x 108 km.arrow_forwardThe Sun emits 3.839 x 1026 J of energy every second, which is generated from the fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core. Using Einstein's equation E = mc2 (with c = 2.9979 x 108 m/s), determine how much mass the Sun converts to energy every second due to nuclear fusion in its core. If we assume that the Sun has been shining at this same rate through its entire 4.6 billion year history, how much mass has the Sun lost due to nuclear fusion during its lifetime? Express your answer as a fraction of the Sun's current mass (1.9891 x 1030 kg).arrow_forwardThe sun produces energy by nuclear fusion reactions, in which matter is converted into energy. By measuring the amount of energy we receive from the sun, we know that it is producing energy at a rate of 3.8 x 1026 W. (a) How many kilograms of matter does the sun lose each second? Approximately how many tons of matter is this (1 ton = 2000 lb)? (b) At this rate, how long would it take the sun to use up all its mass?arrow_forward
- The sun produces energy via nuclear fusion at the rate of 4×1026 J/s . Based on the proposed overall fusion equation, how long will the sunshine in years before it exhausts its hydrogen fuel? (Assume that there are 365 days in the average year.)arrow_forwardA nuclear power plant converts energy from nuclear fission into electricity with an efficiency of 35.0% (i.e., .35 of every unit of energy from fission creates electricity; the other .65 of every unit of energy is lost in the process). How much mass is destroyed every second to produce a continuous 1000 MW of electric power? Given the previous answer, how much mass is converted to energy in 1 year? Harnessing a small fraction of the Sun's energy could provide 3 x 1013 W of energy worldwide. How many days would be required (assuming constant 24-hr energy harnessed with zero efficiency loss) to fulfill the total world's energy needs of 4x1020J?arrow_forwardHow do I Identify this problem? What is the problem asking for? (Distance, time, speed, acceleration, energy, a comparison between two values?) - What are the units that the answer should be in? (a) Using data from Table 7.1, calculate the mass converted to energy by the fission of 1.00 kg of uranium. (b) What is the ratio of mass destroyed to the original mass, Δ?/??arrow_forward
- The Sun's mass is1.989 ×10^8 and it radiates at a rate of 3.827×10^23 kW. a) From this data, assuming it converts all its mass into energy, what is the estimate the lifetime of the Sun? b) Theoretical calculations predict the Sun's lifetime (in its current stage) to be about 5 billion years. During that time, what percentage of its mass will it lose?arrow_forwardSuppose a star 1000 times brighter than our Sun (that is, emitting 1000 times the power) suddenly goes supernova. Using data from Table: (a) By what factor does its power output increase? (b) How many times brighter than our entire Milky Way galaxy is the supernova? (c) Based on your answers, discuss whether it should be possible to observe supernovas in distant galaxies. Note that there are on the order of 1011 observable galaxies, the average brightness of which is somewhat less than our own galaxy.arrow_forwardA particle has γ=15,687. Calculate c-v in m/s. (I would have asked for 1 - v/c, making the answer dimensionless, but the system doesn't seem to take numbers that small. Gamma is chosen to make the particle extremely close to the speed of light.) If your calculator gives problems, you might want to solve the appropriate equation for c-v or c(1 - v/c) and use an approximation.arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
- AstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStaxUniversity Physics Volume 3PhysicsISBN:9781938168185Author:William Moebs, Jeff SannyPublisher:OpenStax
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax
University Physics Volume 3
Physics
ISBN:9781938168185
Author:William Moebs, Jeff Sanny
Publisher:OpenStax