2. Part 1: Star Identification
THE BIG DIPPER IS THE MOST OBSERVED “STAR
PICTURE” IN THE NIGHTTIME SKY. IT HAS A UNIQUE
PATTERN CONSISTING OF SEVEN STARS. THE DIPPER'S
FIVE MIDDLE STARS ALL MOVE TOGETHER IN ONE
DIRECTION AND THE OUTER STARS, DUBHE AND
ALKAID, MOVE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. THE
MAKEUP OF THESE STARS MAKE THEM THE
BRIGHTEST OF ANY STARS IN THE CONSTELLATION
URSA MAJOR.
3. The four stars
that form the
Dubhe
“bowl” or the Megrez
“bucket” shape
of the big dipper Merak
are Megrez, Pheceda
Dubhe,
Pheceda, and
Merak.
4. •Megrez is 50,000,000 years old. It is approximately 81 light years away from earth and is
the smallest star of the Big Dipper. The temperature of Megrez is around 8500 Kelvin.
Compared to the sun, it is double the diameter and more than twenty times luminous
because of the higher internal gravitational compression and temperature.
•Merak is 79 light years away from earth. It is hotter and larger that our sun. With a mass
of three times the sun, it is the fifth brightest star of the big dipper. It has a temperature of
9000 Kelvin and even the dust particles on this star have a temperature of a few hundred
degrees Kelvin.
•Dubhe is the official state star of Utah. It is the northeasterly star of the Big Dipper and is
124 light years away. It points towards the North Star Polaris. It is the most distant star
from earth and is the second brightest star of Ursa Major constellation. The luminosity is
300 times that of the sun. Dubhe has a temperature of 4500 Kelvin which makes it the
lowest temperature of the seven stars. This “orange star” is stabilized by the fusion of helium
in its core.
•Pheceda is a topaz yellow star. It is the southernmost star of all the stars of the Big Dipper
and has a temperature of 9500 Kelvin. It ranks sixth in brightness and is 84 light years
away from earth. It has a diameter of 2.5 times the size of the sun and radiates 64 times the
energy.
5. The “Big Dipper” will fall apart over the
next tens of thousands of years. The star
patterns will slowly drift apart over a
course of time. In the future, the handle
will appear more bent, and the bowl
will be spread out.
6. Part 2: Equation Analysis
E = mc2
E = E N E R G Y ( VA R I A B L E ) ( M E A S U R E D I N J O U L E S )
M = M A S S ( VA R I A B L E ) ( M E A S U R E D I N G R A M S )
C 2 = V E L O C I T Y O F L I G H T S Q U A R E D ( C O N S TA N T S Q U A R E D )
(MEASURED IN METERS PER SECOND)
C= 299,792,458 METERS PER SECOND OR ABOUT 186,282.4 MILES
PER SECOND
C 2= 8 9 , 8 7 5 , 5 1 7 , 8 7 3 , 6 8 1 , 7 6 4 M E T E R S P E R S E C O N D O R AB O U T
34,701,132,549.8 MILES PER SECOND
7. Matter and energy are related. They are different forms of
the same thing. Matter can be turned into energy, and
energy can be turned into matter. E = mc2 means that mass
is condensed energy. Mass and energy are both two sides of
the same coin.
A small amount of mass is equivalent to a large amount of
energy because the proportionality constant. The more mass
the more energy. (Energy also depends on its velocity. More
mass doesn’t always increase objects energy since larger
objects could be moving slowly compared to a much smaller
mass traveling at a high rate of speed).
8. t = γt0
T = TIME FROM ONE POINT OF VIEW
Γ = 1 / ( 1 – V 2/ C 2) 1/2
C2 = THE SPEED OF LIGHT IN A VACUUM
SQUARED
V2 = THE SPACECRAFT SPEED SQUARED
½ = S Q U A R E R O O T O F ( 1 – V 2/ C 2)
T0 = TIME FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW
9. t/t0 = γ
t/t0 = 1/ (1 – v2/c2)1/2
AS V GOES FROM 0 TO .999999C, T/T0
INCREASES.
TIME IS PASSING FASTER.
IF V EQUALS C, THE GAMMA FACTOR IS
INFINITY. THIS MEANS THAT THE
MEASURABLE EFFECTS OF RELATIVITY ARE
BASED ON GAMMA.
IF V IS > C THAN THAT MEANS TIME IS MOVING
SLOWER.
10. ΔdirectionΔlocation >= h/4π
IF YOU ENTER A ZERO FOR ΔDIRECTION OR
ΔLOCATION YOU ACHIEVE ABSOLUTE ZERO.
ABSOLUTE ZERO IS NOT POSSIBLE SINCE
THE FUTURE IS ALWAYS UNCERTAIN AND SO
IS THE UNCERTAINTY BETWEEN THE
POSITION AND MOTION OF A PARTICLE.
11. Part 3: Learning about a Law of Physics
F=ma
Force equals mass times acceleration. This is Isaac Newton’s
second law. It states that the acceleration and speed of an object
depends on the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the
object. It does not apply to situations where the mass is changing.
One example is how much easier it is for an adult to push a large
crate versus a child. The reason is because of the net force that is
acting on the object. Now if the same crate did not have anything
on it, it would be easier to push than a crate with heavy boxes on it.
This is because of the mass of the object. The heavier something is,
the more force you will need to move it. Another example is a car
collision. Assuming that both cars have equal force and equal
speed, they will both go the same distance and feel the same force,
but if the first car is hooked to a second car, the single car will go
double the distance of the two cars hooked and feel two times the
force. The acceleration of an object depends on the force and the
mass of the object.
12. Part 4: Explanation of Fermi’s Paradox and possible
resolution
Fermi's paradox is the contradiction that there is a “great” chance of extraterrestrial
life without any “great” evidence to back up the idea. There is no extraterrestrial
life on earth. If there was, it would have been discovered. So it is factual to say
extraterrestrial life does not exist on earth. So why is there still a high probability
that another life exists?
One reason could be that extraterrestrial life is not suitable to survive “earth”
conditions. It’s possible that other life doesn’t breathe oxygen but something other
than oxygen. Oxygen could be poison to their kind.
The temperature and climate of earth may also play a factor. It could simply be
too hot or too cold for another form of life to travel to earth, so it may not be
impossible for extraterrestrial life to even live here.
There’s also the possibility that other life isn’t advanced enough to travel to earth.
There could be showers of meteoroids that block the visibility of our planet.
Without any physical evidence or contact with extraterrestrials there is no real
resolution. Fermi’s Paradox is all of this as a contradiction.
13. Part 5: Explanation of the Twins Paradox and its
resolution
The twin paradox is a thought up experiment that includes two
twin brothers. One brother makes a journey into space in a
high-speed rocket and the other brother stays on earth. After
years, the twin returns from space to find he has aged less than
his identical twin on Earth.
In order to physically return to the same way as his twin brother,
one twin must undergo acceleration; that’s the resolution.
Acceleration will cause a change in inertial frames, and so the
twin who returns from space will not be in the same constant
frame.
14. Part 5: Explanation of the Twins Paradox and its
resolution
What is it? What is the resolution?
The twin paradox is a In order to physically
thought up experiment return to the same way as
that includes two twin his twin brother, one twin
brothers. One brother must undergo
makes a journey into
space in a high-speed acceleration; that’s the
rocket and the other resolution. Acceleration
brother stays on earth. will cause a change in
After years, the twin inertial frames, and so
returns from space to find the twin who returns
he has aged less than his from space will not be in
identical twin on Earth. the same constant frame.
15. “Time dilation is the difference
of time between two events
measured by observers that are
moving relative to each other or
from different positions of a
gravitational mass.”
16. Time Dilation
Relative velocity time Gravitational time
dilation dilation
Relative velocity time dilation Gravitational time dilation is
is when two observers are in where both observers are distant
relative uniform motion and from a significant gravitational
uninfluenced by any mass. The general theory of
relativity uses a ticking clock as an
gravitational mass. Each of example. The clock that is closer
their points of view will be that to the gravitational mass will go
the other's moving clock is slower than the clock that is more
ticking at a slower rate than distant from the mass. The
the local clock. In summary, observer more distant from the
increasing the relative velocity mass measures the other clock to
will amplify the magnitude of be slower than the local rate, and
time dilation. the observer situated closer to the
mass measures the other clock to
be faster than the local rate. The
clock nearer the mass is slower in
rate.
17. Time dilation can arise from:
the relative velocity of motion between observers
the difference in their distance from a gravitational
mass
18. When energy
or mass
increases
proper time
slows down.
With time
dilation, time
will run
slower
around
objects of Based on Albert Einstein’s Special
greater mass. Theory of Relativity we form our
own space time relative to our
energy or mass.
