Chapter 25

Stars and the Universe

IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL:

• describe the Sun and galaxies, including the Milky Way
• learn about the relative separation of planets, stars and galaxies

describe how stable stars (such as the Sun) are powered by the
thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen
describe the life cycle of stars like our Sun and more massive stars

• learn that the redshift of light from distant galaxies supports the Big
Bang theory

learn that this redshift can be described by Hubble’s law, which can be
used to work out the age of the Universe.
GETTING STARTED
Spend two minutes thinking about these questions before comparing notes
with your neighbour for a further two minutes, adding to or correcting your
own work. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class.
• List the differences between planets and stars.
• Where does the Sun get its energy?
• What colour are stars?
• What is a galaxy and what is the name of our galaxy?
• List what you know about the Universe.

WHAT MAKES THE SUN SHINE?

We know many things about the Sun but a lot of that knowledge has been
gained very recently. Working out what makes the Sun shine was a process
of eliminating different hypotheses (ideas) until one was found that best fits
the evidence.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed the Sun was made of ether, a
perfect substance that glows forever. However, in 1613, Galileo Galilei
observed sunspots on the Sun and these ‘imperfections’ showed that the
Sun could not be made of ether.
Coal was burned in steam engines to power the UK’s Industrial Revolution.
This made scientists wonder whether the Sun was a giant lump of coal but
calculations showed that a Sun made of coal would shine for less than 1500
years and this is a shorter time than recorded history. However, efforts to
understand steam power led to the principle of conservation of energy. This
led scientists to look for other sources of energy (that could be transferred
by light).
Scientists like Hermann von Helmholtz believed the kinetic energy of
meteorites (lumps of rock) colliding with the Sun could be this source of
energy. However, the total mass of meteorites was too small and they were
not moving fast enough to provide the required energy.
Other scientists imagined that the Sun was once much bigger so that it only
just fitted inside the Earth’s orbit. But the gravitational energy released
when it collapsed to its present size could only have provided enough
energy for 100 million years, which was not enough time for the evolution
of different species on Earth to have taken place.
Then radioactivity was discovered, and Einstein showed that mass can be
transformed into energy. This led scientists to work out that the Sun is
powered by thermonuclear fusion, though a fully formed theory did not
appear until 1939.
Figure 25.1: The Sun shining.

Discussion questions
1 List at least three things that most people used to believe about what
makes the Sun shine. For each one, write down how scientists showed
that the belief was incorrect.
25.1 The Sun
The Sun is an average or medium mass star and is made up of about 75%
hydrogen and about 24% helium. The rest (about 1%) is made up of other
elements, such as oxygen and carbon.
The glowing hydrogen at the surface of the Sun radiates energy. About 40% of
this energy is visible light, about 50% is infrared radiation, and the remaining
10% is ultraviolet. Earth’s atmosphere absorbs a lot of this ultraviolet radiation.
The ozone layer, in particular, absorbs most of the harmful (more ionising)
ultraviolet.
Stars are powered by nuclear reactions that release energy. Stable stars like our
Sun are powered by the nuclear fusion (or thermonuclear fusion) of hydrogen
into helium. This makes the Sun shine. It is so hot inside the Sun that matter
exists as plasma (positive ions and electrons). Although the Sun produces
gamma rays because of the nuclear fusion process, collisions with the plasma
mean that it takes about 100 000 years for that energy to reach the Sun’s surface.
In addition, because the energy is spread over a big surface (called the
photosphere) the temperature is lower at the Sun’s surface (about 5800 K
compared to a core temperature of about 15 000 000 K).
The Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of about 150 million kilometres, which is
within the habitable zone. This is the zone where water can exist in liquid form
(an essential requirement for life as we know it). If it was hotter, the water
vapour would never condense; if it was colder, ice would never melt.
The Sun has a mass of 2 × 1030 kg. This is referred to as the solar mass as it
provides a simple way of comparing the mass of other stars to the mass of our
Sun. For example, a star with eight solar masses would have eight times the
mass of the Sun. The Sun contains over 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System
so it exerts a big gravitational force on the planets and causes them to follow
nearly circular orbits.

Questions
1 From which two elements is the Sun mostly made?
2 Give an approximate value for:
a the temperature in the Sun’s core
 b the temperature of the Sun’s surface
c the solar mass
d the percentage of sunlight that is in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet
parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
3 Name the process that makes stable stars, such as our Sun, shine.
4 Imagine that Earth orbited a star that gives off most of its energy in the
ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Discuss whether our eyes would still
have evolved to see visible light.

ACTIVITY 25.1

What colour is the Sun?

Spend two minutes writing down your thoughts and answers to the
questions. Then spend one minute discussing them with a partner.
Your teacher may give you additional time to research these questions
using the Internet, or ask supplementary questions to help you reach the
correct answer.
1 Why do most people think the Sun is yellow?
2 Is this the correct colour of the Sun? How do we know?

REFLECTION
Did you already know the correct answer to Activity 25.1?
It is important in science to avoid looking for evidence that supports an idea
that you already think is correct. Scientists must also avoid not looking for
evidence at all and assuming that they already know the answer. If you
thought the Sun is yellow, did you question this idea? If you guessed that
the Sun is not yellow, did you know what questions to ask to work out its
correct colour?
Were you able to think objectively and find evidence to support the correct
answer? This is how science progresses and it is the approach outlined in
the Science in context section What makes the Sun shine? that led to
correctly understanding how stars shine.
25.2 Stars and galaxies
When you look into the night sky, the light that you see from the stars has been
travelling for many years. Astronomers use this idea as a way of measuring vast
distances. A light-year is a measure of distance (not time). It is the distance that
light travels through space in one year. Light travels at a constant speed of 3 ×
108 m/s through a vacuum. This means that the time it takes to travel somewhere
is directly proportional to distance.
One light-year is the distance that light travels in one year. distance = speed ×
time
So, one light-year = 3 × 108 m/s × 365.25 days × 24 hours × 3600 seconds = 9.5
× 1015 m.
The distance between stars is much bigger than the size of each solar system.
After the Sun, our next nearest star is Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.2 light-
years away. When you see Proxima Centauri the light left it 4.2 years ago;
sunlight only takes eight minutes to reach us because the Sun is much closer to
us. Pluto has an elliptical orbit but, on average, it is 40 times further from the
Sun than the Earth is. But this is dwarfed by the distance between Proxima
Centauri and the Sun, whch is 7000 times further from the Sun than Pluto is.

Questions
5 The Sun is about eight light-minutes away. It takes sunlight about eight
minutes to reach Earth on its journey from the Sun.
a Given that the speed of light is 3 × 108 m/s, how far away is the Sun in
kilometres?
b How many years would it take a car to get to the Sun travelling at 120
km/h?
6 After our Sun, Proxima Centauri is our next nearest star. It is about 4.2
light-years away.
a How many seconds does it take light from Proxima Centauri to reach
Earth?
b How far away is Proxima Centauri in km?
c Helios I & II hold the record as the fastest ever space probes at 252
 738 km/h (about 70 km/s).
How many years would it take these space probes to reach Proxima
Centauri?
d How long would it take them to reach the nearest galaxy 25 000 light-
years away from us?
The force of gravity pulls stars together in groups called galaxies. Our Sun is one
of many billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. There might be 200
billion (2 × 1011) stars in the Milky Way, about 20 stars for every person on
Earth. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with a central bulge (see Figure 25.2). It
has a diameter of 100 000 light-years and the disc is about 2000 light-years
thick. Our Solar System is located about 30 000 light-years from the galactic
centre, two-thirds of the way along a spiral arm. The Milky Way is spinning and
it takes our Solar System about 225 million years to travel once around the
galaxy.

Figure 25.2: A schematic diagram of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Milky Way is one of many billions of galaxies, that make up the Universe.
Most people consider the Andromeda Galaxy (Figure 25.3) to be our closest
galactic neighbour and it is certainly our closest spiral galaxy. However, our
nearest galactic neighbour is the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which is 25 000
light-years away from us and 42 000 light-years from the centre of the Milky
Way.
Figure 25.3: An infrared image of the Andromeda Galaxy, our closest spiral
galaxy.

Questions
7 a Make two sketches to show the Milky Way Galaxy; one sketch should
show its spiral structure and the other should show the galaxy edge on.
b On your sketches mark the diameter of the Milky Way in light-years.
c Mark the position of the Sun in the Milky Way.
d How many stars are there in the Milky Way?
8 The Solar System has existed for 4.6 billion years. How many times has
the Solar System travelled around the Milky Way in that time?
9 How can the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy be closer to us than we are to the
centre of our own galaxy?
10 Assuming that the average mass of a star is equal to the mass of the Sun (2
× 1030 kg), what is the mass of the Milky Way?
11 Imagine that the Milky Way is shrunk down to fit into the space between
the Earth and the Sun. On this scale, calculate how far away the following
bodies would be from Earth:
a Proxima Centauri (in km)
b Pluto (in km)
 c the Sun (in metres)
d the Moon (in cm).
12 Write a sentence or two comparing your answers to question 25.11 with
the length of a pencil, the length of a cricket pitch (about 20 metres), a
400 metre athletics track, and the radius of the Earth (6400 km).

ACTIVITY 25.2

How do astronomers measure distances to faraway objects?

Astronomers have many techniques to measure distances in space. For
nearby stars within our own galaxy, they can use parallax. This is when the
star appears to move across the sky when viewed from opposite sides of
our orbit around the Sun, as shown in Figure 25.4.

Figure 25.4: Parallax in nearby stars.

You can experience this yourself. Stretch out an arm in front of you and
stick up your thumb. Close one eye and open the other and then swap over
which is closed and open. Your thumb should appear to move from side to
side against the background (which should be at least two arm lengths
away).
When a telescope is pointed at a nearby star in the summer it appears to be
 at location X against the background stars. When the telescope is pointed in
the same direction six months later (shown by the dashed line from B), the
astronomer would need to swing the telescope through twice the parallax
angle in order to get the telescope back onto the star, which appears to have
moved to position Y against the background stars.
1 In groups, use the biggest space available to you to mark out three
positions to represent the locations of the Earth in summer (A), the
Earth in winter (B), and distant star (C), located roughly south of A
and B. Ensure that the distant star is on the perpendicular bisector of
the line joining A and B. Measure the distance between the Sun and
the star.
2 Measure the distance between A and B. Compass apps are standard on
mobile phones. Stand at position A and use the app to measure the
angle to C. Then move to B and measure the angle to C. Subtract the
two angles and divide by two to get the parallax angle. Use
trigonometry or a scale drawing to find the distance between the Sun
and the star. Check whether your answer is within 10% of the distance
measured. If your answer is incorrect, identify the source of the error.
3 Repeat step 2 with the layout produced by other groups but keep the
distance to your ‘star’ a secret until the end. The winning group is the
one that gets consistently closest to the actual value.

A protostar – how a star is born

A protostar is the first step in star formation. Stars form from interstellar
clouds of gas and dust that contain hydrogen called molecular clouds, which
are both cold and dense enough for star formation. The Orion Nebula (Figure
25.5) in the Milky Way is about 1350 light-years away and it is the closest
region of star formation to us. It is visible to the naked eye in the night sky just
south of Orion’s Belt in the constellation of Orion.
Figure 25.5: The Orion Nebula, the closest region of star formation and visible
to the naked eye.

The collapse of a clump of molecular cloud due to gravitational attraction starts

a series of energy transfers. As the force of gravity pulls the hydrogen gas
molecules closer together, their gravitational potential energy is transferred to
kinetic energy. As the molecules collide, their kinetic energy is transferred into
thermal energy. The clump contracts into a spinning sphere of super-hot gas
known as a protostar. A protostar continues to grow by pulling in more material
from the molecular cloud. Its final mass determines what happens to it.
A protostar becomes stable when the inward force of gravitational attraction is
balanced by an outward force due to the high temperature of a star caused by
nuclear fusion.

Questions
13 What two properties do molecular clouds have that allow them to collapse?
14 a Explain how stars are formed.
b What causes the centre of a star to warm up when it forms?
15 a Explain what is meant by nuclear fusion.
 b Why can nuclear fusion only occur at high temperatures?

Stable stars
Hot bodies radiate heat and this radiation exerts a force called radiation
pressure. The hotter the object is, the higher the radiation pressure. The very
high temperature of a star leads to a radiation pressure that acts outwards,
making the star expand. This acts in the opposite direction to the force of gravity
pulling the star inwards, making the star contract. When these forces are
balanced, the star is stable and stays the same size as shown in Figure 25.6. An
increase in the core temperature of a star increases the radiation pressure and the
star increases in size. A star shrinks when its core temperature falls.

Figure 25.6: A star is stable when the inward pull of gravity is balanced by the
outward push of radiation pressure, which is actually a force.

The life cycle of a less massive star like our Sun

Like all stars, it begins life as a protostar before a entering a stable period. Once
the star starts running out of hydrogen, nuclear reactions slow down. This
reduces the radiation pressure so the star contracts. This turns some gravitational
potential energy into thermal energy, which raises the temperature of both the
core of the star and the outer shell of hydrogen. The core becomes hot enough
for the fusion of helium. Helium needs a higher temperature to fuse because
there is a bigger electrostatic repulsion between the helium nuclei. This is
because each helium nucleus has a charge of +2 (instead of +1 for hydrogen).
Heating the outer shell causes it to expand and then cool (turning it red).
Therefore, the star becomes a red giant, which is a bigger star with a cooler
surface.
Our Sun is 4.6 billion years old and is half-way through its time as a stable main
sequence star. It will become a red giant in about 5 billion years from now when
it will expand beyond Earth’s orbit. Eventually, the core collapses into a white
dwarf star. A white dwarf cannot exceed a mass of about 1.4 solar masses and
typically has a radius of 1000 km. When the Sun becomes a white dwarf, its
radius will be about 1% of its present radius, which means it will shrink to about
the size of the Earth. Though it has a white hot surface (hence the colour), it is
not hot enough inside to fuse heavier elements, so it will cool to become a black
dwarf. Radiation pressure blows away its outer shell to create a planetary
nebula like the Cat’s Eye Nebula (Figure 25.7).
Figure 25.7: The planetary nebula NGC 6543, known as the Cat’s Eye Nebula,
taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. The white dot in the middle is a white
dwarf star, which is what our Sun will become in about 5 billion years.

The life cycle of a star exceeding eight solar masses

Like all stars, it begins life as a protostar before a entering a stable period. The
core of more massive stars gets so hot that the nuclei of heavier elements can
fuse. The star is hot enough for the fusion of lighter elements to continue in
shells further from the core, as shown in Figure 25.8. The outer shell expands
into a red supergiant. However, it is not possible to make elements heavier than
iron by nuclear fusion so a star with at least eight times the mass of the Sun ends
its cycle of nuclear reactions with iron at its core surrounded by shells of
progressively lighter elements.
Figure 25.8: More massive stars have shells of different elements, with the
heavier elements falling towards the core.

Once all the fuel has run out, the star collapses one final time and then explodes
as a supernova. This provides the energy required to create elements heavier
than iron and push them into space as a nebula, along with lighter elements
(including hydrogen). The nebula provides the building blocks for possible
future stars and solar systems. A supernova will briefly outshine its galaxy. The
Crab Nebula (Figure 25.9) is what remains of a supernova observed by Chinese
astronomers in 1054. What happens after a supernova depends on the mass of
the core that remains. If the core is less than about three solar masses, a neutron
star forms. The force of gravity is so strong that electrons and protons are forced
together to create neutrons. An even more massive core will continue collapsing
until it becomes so dense that not even light can escape and the star becomes a
black hole.
Figure 25.9: A supernova in 1054 left behind the Crab Nebula and a neutron
star somewhere within.

The possible life cycles of stars is summarised in Figure 25.10. All stars begin as
a protostar but the future path of a star is determined by its mass when it moves
onto the main sequence, a stage in its life when it is stable and burning
hydrogen. Stars that are more massive spend less time on the main sequence as
they have a higher core temperature and use up their fuel more quickly.
Figure 25.10: The life cycle of a star depends on its initial (starting) mass. All
stars begin as protostars in molecular clouds before joining the main sequence.
Stars with a starting mass of fewer than eight solar masses follow the top row
while heavier stars move along the bottom row and explode as supernovae. After
the supernova stage, the lighter stars become neutron stars while the rest become
black holes.

The Big Bang created hydrogen, helium and a trace of lithium, so stars have
produced the rest. This means the Solar System contains stardust. The Sun is a
third generation star, which means that it includes matter that has been through
two previous stars, including one that ended in a supernova explosion. In fact,
we may have atoms in our bodies that come from many stars because supernova
explosions mix up matter in the interstellar medium.

Questions
16 Explain the following terms about the life cycle of a star:
a protostar
b main sequence star
c red giant
d white dwarf
e supernova
 f neutron star
g black hole.
17 Construct a flow chart to show how the stages listed in question 25.16 fit
together in the life cycle of stars.
25.3 The Universe
The Universe has only recently been discovered: on New Year’s Day, 1925. This
is when Edwin Hubble’s scientific paper was presented that ended the ‘Great
Debate’ and proved that the Universe is bigger than the Milky Way.
Astronomers had observed what looked like whirlpools of gas and dust inside
our galaxy. But when Hubble focused the new Mount Palomar telescope onto
them he realised they were other galaxies beyond our own. Along with 53 other
galaxies and dwarf galaxies, we are part of the local group of galaxies, which is
part of the Virgo Supercluster.

Spectroscopy – learning about stars from their starlight

It is remarkable what starlight can tell us about a star. Spectroscopy, or the
scientific study of spectra, began with Isaac Newton in 1666. He discovered that
a prism (a triangular block of glass) disperses white light into the colours of the
visible spectrum as covered in Chapter 13.
In 1814, Joseph Fraunhofer noticed that many dark lines cross the spectrum of
sunlight. These dark lines are the wavelengths of light missing from the sunlight
because the cool gas in the Sun’s atmosphere absorbs them. A spectrum with
these absorption lines is known as an absorption spectrum (see Figure 25.11).
For reasons that are beyond this course, each element has a unique set of lines
(sometimes known as a spectral fingerprint) similar to a barcode. These lines
allow astronomers to work out what elements are inside a star.

Figure 25.11a: An absorption spectrum found in an experiment on Earth. b: The

redshifted spectrum observed from a distant galaxy.

The spectrum for hydrogen and other elements has been found in experiments on
Earth. However, when astronomers looked for the same spectra in distant
galaxies, they discovered that they are redshifted (shifted towards the red end of
the spectrum).
This does not mean that electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from
distant galaxies turns red. It means light shifts towards longer wavelengths
because the wave is stretched out and the wavelength is increased. For example,
as can be seen in Figure 25.11, absorption lines that are normally in the blue part
of the spectrum can shift into the green part of the spectrum.

The Doppler effect

You may already have noticed the Doppler effect. As a very fast vehicle passes
you, the volume of the sound rises and falls. However, the pitch also increases as
the vehicle approaches and decreases as it recedes (moves away). The sound
wave is compressed in front of the vehicle as it approaches. This is because once
the crest (or compression) of a sound wave leaves the car, the car catches up
with it before the next crest of the wave leaves the car, as shown in Figure 25.12.
The sound wave is stretched out behind the vehicle as it moves away.
Figure 25.12: This diagram shows crests of a sound wave modified by the
Doppler effect, with the wave compressed ahead of the ambulance (so person A
hears a higher pitch) and redshifted behind (so person B hears a lower pitch).
By the time it emits the next crest, the ambulance has moved forward, closing
the gap on the previous crest.

The Doppler effect is a property of all waves, including light. Light from
galaxies that are moving away from us is redshifted. This turned out to be the
first important clue that the Universe is expanding and suggested that the
galaxies must have been closer together in the past. This led to the theory that
the Universe had a beginning: the Big Bang theory. This is the idea that the
Universe (space, time, matter, energy) was created at a single point 13.8 billion
years ago and has been expanding and cooling ever since.

Hubble’s law
Astronomers use the Doppler effect to work out how fast galaxies are moving
away from us (or towards us). The speed of the galaxies is directly proportional
to the amount of redshift. In 1921, Edwin Hubble plotted the recession speed of
galaxies (how fast they are moving away) against their distance from us. He got
a graph like Figure 25.13. It shows that the speed at which galaxies are moving
away from us is directly proportional to their distance from us.
Figure 25.13: A typical Hubble plot that shows that the velocity of galaxies and
clusters is directly proportional to their distance from us.

His line of best fit is Hubble’s law:

v = H0 d
Here, v is the recession speed of galaxies (how fast they are moving away from
us) and d is their distance from us. The graph confirms that the further away the
galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us.
The Hubble constant, is the gradient of this graph and it is the ratio of the speed
at which galaxies are moving away from Earth to their distance from Earth:
v
H0 = d

KEY EQUATION
speed of galaxy moving away from Earth
Hubble constant = distance of the galaxy from Earth
H0 = v
d
Estimate for the age of the Universe
1
 1
d
v
= H0

The current estimate for H0 is 2.2 × 10–18 per second.

The reciprocal (inverse) of the Hubble constant is known as Hubble time
because it can be used to work out the age of the Universe. From the equation
that links distance, speed and time, we know that:
time = distance
speed
So:
1
tuniverse = d
v
= H0
Therefore, the age of the Universe is:
1 s
tuniverse = = = 4.5 × 1017 s
H0 2.2 × 10−18
= 14.4 × 10 9 years

The Universe began at a single point (called a singularity) about 14.5 billion
years ago.

Questions
18 This question is about the Doppler effect. Use a compass to draw a circle of
radius 5 cm. Then move the point of the compass 0.5 cm to the left and
draw a circle of radius 4 cm. Repeat the process, moving the compass to the
left and reducing the radius of the circle by 1 cm, until you have a nest of
circles that are closer together on the left-hand side than the other. They
represent circular sound waves produced by the engine of a racing car, at a
scale of 1 cm = 1 metre.
a What is the wavelength of the sound when the racing car is not
moving?
b What is the wavelength of the sound:
i ahead of the racing car?
ii behind the racing car?
c Sound travels at 330 m/s. What is the frequency of the sound heard:
 i ahead of the racing car?
ii behind the racing car?
iii if the racing car is not moving?
d Explain what you would hear as the racing car passes you. Why does
the car have to be travelling fast?
19 Figure 25.14 is a plot of the recession speed of superclusters against their
distance from Earth.

Figure 25.14: Recession speed of superclusters plotted against distance.

a Use Figure 25.14 to calculate the Hubble constant, expressed:

i in km/s per million light-years
ii per second. (Hint: it will help to recall that 1 light-year = 9.5 ×
1012 km.)
b i The redshift of the Saraswati Supercluster suggests that it is
receding (moving away) from us at a speed of 84 000 km/s. Use
the value of the Hubble constant you worked out in part a i to
work out how far away the supercluster is from us and plot its
position on a sketched copy of Figure 25.14.
ii Use your answer to part a ii to work out the age of the Universe.
The discovery of the cosmic microwave background
radiation (CMBR)
Most cultures have a creation myth about how the Universe began. Science has
only been able to offer an alternative explanation during the last century and
many puzzles remain. Our best knowledge at the moment is that the Universe
began as a hot big bang from a tiny point smaller than a pinhead (called a
singularity) about 13.8 billion years ago. The Universe was unimaginably hot
and dense but it has been expanding and cooling ever since. The early Universe
was so hot that neutral atoms could not form. They would instantly ionise. Light
was continuously scattered off the charged particles (ions and electrons). By
analogy, light is scattered in fog, which is why you cannot see very far into it.
Once the Universe was about 379 000 years old, and about the size of the Milky
Way, the temperature dropped to 3000 K and neutral atoms formed. Light was
no longer scattered and the Universe became transparent. It was like the fog
suddenly lifted (disappeared) and the air became clear. However, the continued
expansion of the Universe has caused the wavelength of this light to redshift
over time.
The wavelength of this light, in the microwave region of the electromagnetic
spectrum, was predicted in 1948. In 1964, the US scientists Arno Penzias and
Robert Wilson (Figure 25.15) built a radio telescope but struggled to eliminate
noise (unwanted signal). It did not matter where in the sky they pointed their
telescope, the noise was constant, and so they assumed that it was a problem
with their equipment. However, it turned out that they had accidentally
discovered microwave radiation. They were looking at light that had left the
surface of last scattering when the universe was only 379 000 years old (almost
14 billion years ago) and had been redshifted so that its wavelength was now
more than 1000 times longer. This microwave radiation, called cosmic
microwave background radiation (CMBR), has a temperature of 2.726 K (Figure
25.16). Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1978
for their accidental discovery.
Figure 25.15: Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias in front of the radio telescope
that detected the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Figure 25.16: Full sky map of cosmic microwave background radiation. This is
the radiation emitted when the Universe was 379 000 years old but redshifted
into the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This shows that the
Universe has a uniform temperature of 2.726 K in all directions, with only very
tiny variations, indicated by the false colours.
Despite the name, the Big Bang was not an explosion. It is the expansion of the
space between the galaxies. Imagine your universe is the two-dimensional
surface of a balloon. Everything inside or outside of the balloon does not exist.
As space expands (that is, the balloon inflates), clusters of galaxies move further
apart with their recession speeds increasing with distance as shown in Figure
25.17. No matter the direction we look, galaxies appear to be moving away from
us, suggesting we are at the centre of the Universe. However, aliens on a distant
galaxy would also think they were at the centre of the Universe, with all other
galaxies moving away from them. Actually, the Universe does not have a centre
or an edge. Do not worry if you find this idea impossible to imagine because
nobody can. The best we can do is to present models.

Figure 25.17: The Universe represented by the surface of an expanding balloon.

ACTIVITY 25.3
Using Hubble’s law to find the centre of the Universe
Work individually, in pairs, or in groups (four would be ideal) on this task.
If you have a strip of elastic with buttons sewn into it, you can do this as an
experiment under the guidance of your teacher. You need to stretch the
elastic by the same amount for each ‘time interval’ so that it looks
something like Figure 25.18. If buttons and elastic are not available, take
measurements from the diagram.
Figure 25.18: Modelling the expanding Universe.

Each button represents a cluster of galaxies. Cluster A represents the local

group (where the Milky Way Galaxy is located). The scale is 3 mm = 10
million light-years.
1 Measure the distances between the centres of the clusters and record
them on a copy the Table 25.1a. Compare your measurements with
other students and reach a consensus (agreement). Check that the
value in the final column for each row is equal to the sum of the three
previous columns.
2 If you are working in a group then each of you should take one of the
clusters and work out the distance to all the other clusters, using the
distances you agreed in the previous step. For example, if you are
allocated cluster (button) C, you will be a scientist looking at the
expanding universe as if you were living on a planet in cluster C and
working out the distances to clusters B, A and D. Do this for all the
different times and complete your own table, which should look
something like the one in Table 25.1b.
Time (billion
C-B B-A A-D Total (C-D)
years)
1
2
3
 4
5
Table 25.1a: Agreed distances between clusters

Time (billion
Distance to B Distance to A Distance to D
years)
1
2
3
4
5
Table 25.1b: Example table (for cluster C)

3 For your allocated cluster, plot a graph of distance (in millions of

light-years) against time (in billions of years) to the other three
clusters. It will save time and make it easier to compare if you plot all
three graphs on the same axes but ensure you label each graph with the
correct letter for each cluster.
4 Use your plotted distance-time graph(s) from the previous step to
work out the (recession) speed for each cluster (in million light-years
per billion years) and comment on what you find. Sketch a graph of
speed against original distance. How do you interpret your results?
5 Compare what you find with your classmates. Check that the recession
speed is the same for pairs of galaxies. For example, the speed of B as
seen from D should be the same as the speed of D as seen from B.

PEER ASSESSMENT
Look at the work of fellow students who have completed this task (your
teammates if you have been working in a group of four).
• Which piece of work is the most accurate and easiest to follow? If you
 had been absent and missed this lesson whose work would you want to
read to help you understand the missed work?
• Identify the reasons why this work stands out but also how it could be
improved.
• In your group make a list of things that everyone can do to set out
their work more clearly.
• Your teacher may ask your group to discuss the piece of work you
have chosen.

Question
20 Describe in detail two pieces of evidence that support the Big Bang
theory.

Measuring distances with supernovae

Having found evidence that the Universe is expanding, scientists are now asking
what will happen to the Universe in the future. Observations in 1998 of type 1a
supernovae in a very distant galaxy suggest that the expansion of the Universe is
accelerating. Type 1a supernovae occur when a white dwarf star in a binary star
system (when two stars orbit each other) pulls in material from its companion
star until it reaches a certain mass and then explodes. The important point is that
these supernovae always have the same luminosity (output power) therefore they
act as a ‘standard candle’. By recording how bright the supernova appears to be
and knowing how bright it really is, it is possible to work out how far away it is.
Scientists are still not able to explain why the expansion of the Universe is
speeding up, but they have suggested that something called ‘dark energy’ is
responsible. If you continue to study physics you will learn more about this.

PROJECT
Are we alone in the Universe?
The possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe fascinates and frightens
people in equal measure and is the subject of many science fiction stories,
both in books and movies. Science fiction (as opposed to fantasy) often
works better if the underlying science is correct or, at least, possible.
When looking for life beyond Earth, it is important to consider what
conditions are required for life on Earth. We need liquid water (as a solvent
for the chemical reactions needed for life), a source of energy (we depend
on sunlight), and chemical building blocks. Scientists have discovered that
most stars have solar systems of orbiting planets, increasing the chances
that the conditions for life on Earth exist on other planets, beyond the Solar
System.
However, liquid water is not the only possible solvent for chemical
reactions. Ammonia and liquid hydrocarbons (like methane) are
alternatives and have raised hopes of finding life on Titan, the largest moon
orbiting Saturn.
Sunlight is not the only source of energy. In 1977, hydrothermal vents
(called black smokers) were discovered at mid-ocean ridges several
kilometres below the ocean surface. Even though they are far deeper than
light can reach, ecosystems have formed around them. These ecosystems
get their energy from the chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen
sulphide. This has increased hopes of finding life beneath the ice of Europa,
one of Jupiter’s moons. Microbes have also been discovered deep
underground in the Earth’s crust.
Life on Earth is based on carbon, which can bond with to up four other
atoms and forms more compounds than all other elements combined.
However, life could also be based on silicon, which is in the same group in
the Periodic Table and can also form a huge variety of compounds.
You have two tasks.
1 Use the Internet to find more information on one of the following:
• The search for Earth-like extrasolar planets (planets in other solar
systems that match the conditions required for life on Earth): you
will find there are many other requirements for more complicated
life forms (for example, the spin of the planet has to be stable).
You can probably think of more before going online.
• The search for life within our Solar System: you could look at,
for example, Mars, Europa or Titan.
2 Use the information presented here or the information you have found
on the Internet to complete a short piece of creative science fiction
writing, based on scientific fact. Aim for a maximum of 800 words (or
what your teacher suggests). Use your imagination, but make sure that
your story is concise and the science is clear and correct.
SUMMARY

Our Sun is an average star and is made mainly of hydrogen and helium.
Stable stars shine because of the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen.
The Sun shines in the infrared and ultraviolet as well as the visible light.
A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year.
A light-year is defined as 9.5 × 1015 metres.
The Sun is of one of many billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy.
The distance between stars is thousands of times bigger than the distance
between a star and planets in its solar system, if it has one.
Our Milky Way Galaxy is one of billions of others in the Universe.
Our nearest galaxy is more than 25 000 light-years from Earth. So,
galaxies are much further apart than stars, and stars are much further apart
than planets.
All stars begin as protostars from the collapse of interstellar (molecular)
gas clouds and then start using hydrogen as their fuel.
A stable star uses hydrogen as its fuel and the outward force of radiation
pressure due to its high temperature balances the inward force of gravity.
Low mass stars (less than eight times the mass of the Sun) swell into red
giants when they run out of hydrogen fuel for their nuclear reactions.
When red giants run out of helium, they form a planetary nebula and
shrink into white dwarfs.
High mass stars (more than eight times the mass of the Sun) will explode
as supernovae that create elements heavier than iron and send this material
into the interstellar medium as a nebulae that form the raw material for
new stars and solar systems.
A star that explodes as a supernova collapses to become a neutron star or,
if it has a bigger mass, a black hole.
Redshift is the increase in the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation
(including visible light).
Light from distant stars and galaxies is redshifted, which suggests that
they are moving away from us.
The fact that galaxies are moving away from us suggests that the Universe
is expanding and supports the Big Bang theory.
The speed that a galaxy appears to be moving away from us can be found
from the redshift in the starlight.
The Hubble equation describes how the speed of galaxies is proportional
to their distance from us.
The reciprocal of the Hubble constant tells us the age of the Universe.
The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) is electromagnetic
radiation from the early Universe that has been redshifted and its
wavelength stretched into the microwave region of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
The distance to a distant galaxy can be determined by the brightness of a
type 1a supernova.
EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS

1 Why do stars shine? [1]

A They are burning.
B Nuclear fusion is taking place inside the star.
C They are made of hot gases that are heated up when they
collapsed from gas clouds.
D They are made of ether.

2 What is a light-year?
[1]
A the distance light travels in one year
B 366 days
C the time it takes light to travel in one year
D 1.44 × 1011 metres

3 Which of the following is not a star?

[1]
A neutron star
B white dwarf
C supernova
D red giant

4 Which of the following is not evidence of the Big Bang? [1]

A cosmic microwave background radiation everywhere
B galaxies are moving closer together
C stars that are redshifted
D the Universe is expanding

5 a What do we call a large group of stars? [1]

 b Why do these groups form? [1]
c What is the name of the group where we live? [1]
d How many other groups of stars do we think exist in the
Universe? [1]
[Total: 4]

6 a What causes the redshift in the light arriving from distant

galaxies? [2]

Distance (million light-years) Velocity (km/s)

0.0 0
1.6 270
2.3 360
3.0 470
1.7 890
5.6 990
6.6 1050
7.3 1150

b The table shows data for a parallel universe. Plot a graph

of recessional speed (in km/s) versus distance (million
light-years) to each galaxy for this parallel universe. [3]

c Use the graph you plotted to find the Hubble constant,

making it clear how you did it. [2]
d Find the age of this fictional universe. [2]

[Total: 9]

7 Describe the life cycle of the Sun from how it formed until the
point at which it runs out of fuel. [5]
8 What is the Big Bang theory and what evidence is there to
support it? [3]
SELF-EVALUATION CHECKLIST
After studying this chapter, think about how confident you are with the
different topics. This will help you to see any gaps in your knowledge and
help you to learn more effectively.
Needs Confident
See Almost
I can more to move
Topic... there
work on
Describe what the Sun is made of. 25.1
Recall what parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum are emitted 25.1
by the Sun.
Describe what powers a stable star. 25.1
Recall the relative distances between
25.2
planets, stars and galaxies.
Recall what a light-year is. 25.2
Define a light-year. 25.2
Describe how a protostar is formed
25.2
and how it becomes a stable star.
Describe the life cycle of a star like
the Sun, including the names of the 25.2
different stages.
Describe the life cycle of stars
exceeding eight solar masses,
25.2
including the names of the different
stages.
Describe the role of supernovae in
creating heavy elements and spreading 25.2
them.
Recall the number of stars in the
Milky Way and the number of 25.2
galaxies in the Universe.
Recall what redshift is. 25.3
Recall how the redshift of
electromagnetic radiation from distant
25.3
stars and galaxies supports the Big
Bang theory.
Know that the redshift of light from
distant galaxies can be used to work
25.3
out their speed of recession (how fast
they are moving away from us).
Recall Hubble’s Law and use it to
25.3
work out the age of the Universe.
Recall where to find the CMBR
(cosmic microwave background
25.3
radiation) and describe its origin (how
it came into existence).
Describe how the distance to a galaxy
can be determined using a type 1a 25.3
supernova.
 Appendix
Electrical symbols
You'll need to know the following electrical symbols for the ‘Electricity and
magnetism’ section of the syllabus. The symbols highlighted in blue are
supplement content.

cell

battery of cells

power supply
d.c. power supply
a.c. power supply
fixed resistor

variable resisitor

thermistor

light-dependent resisitor

heater

potential divider
magnetising coil

transformer

switch

earth or ground

junction of conductors

lamp

motor

generator

ammeter

voltmeter

diode

light-emitting diode

fuse

relay coil

Symbols
You'll need to know the usual scientific symbols for a number of physical
quantities and, where relevant, the units that they're measured in. The tables
below show you what you need to know for the Core and Supplement options of
the syllabus.
Core Supplement
Usual Usual Usual
Quantity Usual unit Quantity
symbol symbol unit
l, h, d, s, km, m, cm,
length
x mm
area A m2, cm2
volume V m3, cm3, dm3
weight W N
mass m, M kg, g mass m, M mg
time t h, min, s time t ms, μs
density ρ g/cm3, kg/m3
km/h, m/s,
speed u, v
cm/s
acceleration a m/s2
acceleration
g m/s2
of free fall
force F N
gravitational
field g N/kg
strength
spring N/m,
k
constant N/cm
momentum p kg m/s
impulse FΔt Ns
moment of
Nm
force
work done W J, kJ, MJ
 J, kJ, MJ, kW
energy E
h
power P W, kW, MW
pressure p N/m2, N/cm2 pressure p Pa
temperature θ, T °C, K
specific
J/(g°C),
heat c
J/(kg°C)
capacity
frequency f Hz, kHz
wavelength λ m, cm wavelength λ nm
focal length f m, cm
angle of
i degree (°)
incidence
angle of
r degree (°)
refection
angle of
r degree (°)
refraction
critical
c degree (°)
angle
refractive
n
index
Potential
difference/ V V, mV, kV
voltage
current I A, mA
e.m.f. E V
resistance R Ω
charge Q C
count/s,
count rate
counts/minute
s, minutes, h,
half-life days, weeks,
years
Hubble H0 s-1
constant
Key equations
change in velocity
acceleration = time taken
Δv
a = Δt

gradient
acceleration of free fall (m/s 2) = 2

acceleration of free fall = g = w

m

average: the average of 12, 15 and 16 is 14.3:

12+15+16
3
= 14.3

2 × π × orbital radius
average orbital speed = orbital period
2πr
v = T

ΔE
c= mΔθ

change in pressure = density × acceleration due to gravity × depth

Δp = ρgΔh

conversion between Kelvin temperarure and degrees Celsius

T (K) = θ(°C) + 273

critical angle:
1
n= sin c

charge
current = time
Q
I = t

mass
density = volume
 useful energy output
efficiency = total energy input

energy transferred = current × p.d. × time

E = IV t
work done on the charge
e.m.f. = charge
W
E = Q

ΔEk = 12 mv2

ΔEp = mgΔh

4π2
g= G

w
g= m

gravitational potential of the lead = mass of lead × g × height of tube

impulse = force × time for which force acts

impulse = F Δt = Δ(mv)

image height u
magnification = object height
= d

moment of a force = force × perpendicular distance from the pivot

momentum, ρ = mv

useful energy output

percentage efficiency = total energy input
× 100%

ΔE
power, p = t

power = current × p.d.

P = IV
power in to primary coil = power out of secondary coil
I p × Vp = I s × Vs

power loss = square of current in the cable × resistance

P = I²R.
force
pressure = area
F
P = A

work done by the charge

p.d. = charge
W
V = Q

refractive index:
sin i
n= sin r

relationship between pressure and volume for gas at a constant temperature:

pV = constant
p.d.
resistance = current
V
R = I

resistance for two resistors used as a potential divider:

R1 V1
R2
= V2

chang in momentum
resultant force = unit time
Δp
F = Δt

energy required
specific heat capacity = mass × temperature increase
ΔE
c = mΔθ

Δ
 ΔE
c= mΔθ

specific heat capacity = energy required

ΔE
c = mΔθ

distance
speed = time
v = s
t

force
spring constant = unit extension
F
k = x

voltage across primary coil number of turns on primary

voltage across secondary coil
= number of turns on secondary
Vp Np
Vs
= Ns

wave speed = frequency × wavelength

v = fλ

weight = mass × g

work done by a force = force × distance moved by the force in the direction of th
W = F d = ΔE
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