Module P7 L7
“If, in some cataclysm, all scientific
Richard Feynman (1918-1988)
Nobel Laureate (1965) for the
theory of Q.E.D. (Quantum
Electrodynamics)
knowledge were to be destroyed, and
only one sentence passed on to the next
generation of creatures, what statement
would contain the most information in
the fewest words?
“I believe it is the atomic hypothesis . . .
that all things are made of atoms —
little particles that move around in
perpetual motion, attracting each
other when they are a little distance
apart, but repelling upon being
squeezed into one another.
“In that one sentence you will see an
enormous amount of information about
the world, if just a little imagination and
thinking are applied.”
Gas!
The Kinetic Theory of Matter pictures
matter as being made of particles in
constant motion.

For example, a gas exerts pressure on

the walls of the container because the
particles are colliding with it.
Pump down the volume
If the volume of a fixed mass of gas
is reduced then the particles collide
more often with the walls of the
container so the pressure increases.

Pressure is inversely proportional

to volume.

P P

V 1/V
Change the temperature
If the temperature is increased then the
particles move faster and collide with the
walls more often.

Pressure increases with temperature.

-273 °C is the
temperature at which
P
the pressure is zero
i.e. the particles are
not moving.
This is absolute
zero - the coldest
- 273 t / °C possible temperature.
 P P

t / °C T/K

Note that the pressure is not However, the pressure is proportional to the
proportional to the temperature in temperature in degrees Kelvin.
degrees Celsius.

The zero of the Kelvin scale is at Absolute

(It’s a straight line with a +ve gradient Zero.
but it doesn’t go through the origin.)
°C  K : Add 273
K  °C : Subtract 273
Real exam
question
Stars are not forever.
• This is the star
Betelgeuse (“beetlejuice”)
in the constellation of
Orion.
• It is a Red Giant star.
• It is in its ‘old age’.
• Stars do not last forever.
• They are ‘born’, ‘live’ and
‘die’
What does a ‘baby’ star look like?
• These huge clouds of
gas and dust in deep
space…
• …will eventually turn
into a star (perhaps
more than one).
The entire Solar System out
to the orbit of Pluto could fit
in here
 A star is born: stage 1/5
• A huge cloud of dust
and gas (larger than
the Solar System)…
• …starts to shrink
because of gravity.
• Gravity makes it fall in
on itself.

[artist’s impression]
 A star is born: stage 2/5
• The centre starts to
get hot…
• …because of friction.
• GPE is turning into
heat energy
(GPE = gravitational potential energy)

[artist’s impression]
 A star is born: stage 3/5
• The centre shrinks
fast and becomes…
• …very hot and
dense.
• It is called a protostar.

[artist’s impression]
 A star is born: stage 4/5
• Nuclear fusion starts
in the core.
• Hydrogen atoms are
fused into helium
atoms…
• …releasing huge
amounts of energy.
• The star has begun to
shine.
[artist’s impression]
 A star is born: stage 5/5
• The light, heat and
particles produced by
the new star…
• …blow away the
remains of the cloud.
• Some parts of the
cloud may form
planets.

[artist’s impression]
Young stars
• Stars often form in groups
or clumps called
clusters…
• This is a cluster of stars
called the Pleiades.
• Note the left over gas
cloud which gave birth to
them.
• They are Blue Giants.
They will ‘burn’ hotter and
faster than our Sun. They
will have shorter lives
than the Sun even though
they are larger.
A typical Main Sequence star
• Our Sun is about 4500 million
years old.
• It ‘burns’ four million tons of
fuel every second…
• …turning hydrogen into
helium.
• It has got enough hydrogen to
keep going as it is now…
• …for another 4500 million
years!
• This stage is called the main
sequence.
Death of the Sun: 1/3
• When the hydrogen fuel
runs out…
• …the outside swells and
the star becomes a Red
Giant.
• When this happens to the
Sun, the Earth will be
swallowed up.
• The Sun will eat her
children.
Death of the Sun: 2/3
• The outer layers of
the star are blown
away into space…
• …leaving a white
dwarf which will
eventually cool into a
black dwarf.
Death of the Sun: 3/3
• From far away, this is
what we would see.
• The white dwarf is the
point of light in the
centre of the circle.
[artist’s impression]
 Death of a Big Star: 1/4
• A big star will become a
Red Giant and then…
• …explode as a
supernova.
• A supernova is the
largest explosion in the
Universe.
• For a few days, one star
will outshine the 100
billion other stars in the
galaxy.
[artist’s impression]
Death of a Big Star: 2/4
• The star literally
blows itself to pieces.
• What is left behind is
this…
• …shreds of gas and
dust…
• …blown away from
the star.
Death of a Big Star: 3/4
• If the star is 10 times the
mass of the Sun…
• …it will become a neutron
star.
• The pressure of the
explosion and gravity
squeezes the electrons
into atoms until you get a
solid ball of neutrons.
• The picture shows a jet
shooting out of a neutron
star in the constellation of
Vela.
Death of a Big Star: 4/4
• An even bigger star
may become a black
hole.
• Here we see gas and
dust spiralling into a
black hole…
• …and getting hot as
the particles collide
with each other
(which explains why
black holes are not
black)
 You and the Universe…
The Sun is a second generation star.

The Sun and planets were formed from the ‘ashes’ of long
dead stars.

Carbon atoms can only be formed inside stars. Organic

molecules are based around carbon atoms.

This means that the theory of stellar evolution theory tells

us that human beings are quite literally made from star-
stuff.
 Life Story of a Star – a summary
Life Story of a Human Life Story of a Star

Baby
NEBULA: a giant cloud of dust and gas in space starts
to collapse because of gravity.

Child
PROTOSTAR: the centre gets hot because GPE* is
turned into heat energy.
*GPE=gravitational potential energy

Adult
MAIN SEQUENCE: nuclear fusion reactions (hydrogen
into helium) start. The star is shining.

O.A.P.
RED GIANT: the star runs out of hydrogen fuel and
the outer layers swell and turn red as it fuses helium
into heavier elements. The inner planets are destroyed
as it grows.

Death
Small star: outer layers Large star: explodes as a
blown away to leave a SUPERNOVA which leaves
WHITE DWARF which behind a NEUTRON STAR
eventually cools into a or BLACK HOLE.
BLACK DWARF
Real Exam Question