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Tim Smith
Physics 1010
Fall Semester
Signature Assignment
Star Identification
The big dipper has is one of the most widely recognized star constellations found in the
nighttime sky. It primarily consists of 7 stars and t when you connect the dots, the stars take place of a
spoon or ladle. There are many great stories and legends revolving around this design in the sky, but
there are also scientific facts to be discovered as well. Here is some information on two of the stars.
Dubhe
Dubhe is the name of the star that is the most north and the furthest east of this constellation. It is the
upper right star that helps make up the cup that would hold the water. (See Figure 1)
Figure 1
This star is located the furthest from earth as well. It sits about 124 light years away from planet earth.
That is about a total distance of 728,933,977,000,000 miles away from us! Yet on a clear night, we are
still able to see it in the sky. This star is in the Red Giant stage so when compared to the size of our Sun,
which is in the main sequence stage, it is believed to be 5 billion years ahead in its life cycle. Dubhe’s
main source of fuel is Helium. Another interesting fact is the Dubhe is the official star of the state of
Utah.
Mizar
Mizar is one of “the handle’s” stars. When looking at the Big Dipper it is the second one in from the left
side (See Figure 2). Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning waistband or girdle. Mizar is the
closet to us out of all the stars in the Big Dipper. It is about 78 light years away from Earth, or about
458,522,986,000,000 miles.
Figure 2
Mizar is in the life cycle stage of being a protostar, and is considerably younger than our sun. It is in the
process of condensing its matter and uses hydrogen has its fuel source. Mizar’s core can reach up to
27,000,032 degrees Fahrenheit during this stage of life. Our Sun is usually about 9,940 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Alkaid
Alkaid is the star to the very left of the handle. When forming the lines of the constellation, it is the only
star that has only one mate. Every other star in the constellation has two stars attached to it. Alkaid is
the second furthest away from Earth at 101 light years, or 593,728,481,000,000 miles! Alkaid is the third
brightest star in the Big Dipper, and it ranks 35th on the overall list. The name Alkaid is Arabic for “the
leader” which refers to the rest of the stars being after it in the constellation. Alkaid is in the MainSequence phase, the same phase of our sun, but it actually has 6 times the mass of our sun.
Phecda
Phecda comes from an Arabic phrase meaning “thigh of the bear.” Phecda is 493,793,984,000,000 miles,
or 84 light years, away from Earth. It is also in the main sequence phase like that of the Sun. What this
means is that it is burning hydrogen has its primary fuel source, and giving off helium as a byproduct.
Phecda also rotates at a speed that is 84 times faster than our Sun rotates on its axis.
Equation Analysis
E=mc^2
1)
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2)
E=mc^2
E= energy. This is usually measured in Joules and is a variable.
M=mass. This is usually measured in the metric of kilograms, and this is also a variable.
C^2= the speed of light squared. This is a constant.
C^2 is 89,875,517,900,000,000 meters a second or 449,726,663,100,000,000 miles per
hour.
3) In the equation E=mc^2 mass and energy are related. The reason why is because they
are both variables in this equation. If you change one of them, the other one is directly
affected by the change in the other.
4) I would have to agree with the statement “if it is possible to change mass into energy a
little bit of mass could produce a lot of energy”. When you look at the equation E=mc^2,
you are looking at when mass is moving extremely fast (at the speed of light multiplied
by itself), it translates into energy. The statement above is written in relative terms, but
the fact still remains that if this equation rings true, then yes, a little bit of mass has the
potential to create a lot of energy.
t = γt0
1) With the time dilation formula, when you have the percentage of c go from zero to
.0000000 is says that time on earth will continue to pass faster and faster the higher of a
percentage you get. For example:
t/t0 = y = 1/(1-
/c²)^1/2 = 1/(1-0c²/c²)^1/2 = 1/(1)^1/2 = 1 Therefore t/t0 = 1 and the time
passing on earth and the spaceship are equal to each other.
Next is an example of if the percentage of c=.999999:
t/t0 = y = 1/(1-
/c²)^1/2 = 1/(1-.999998c²/c²)^1/2 = 1/(0.0014142132) = 707.10
Therefore every 1 year that would pass inside of the spacecraft, a little over 707 years would
pass on earth.
2) When we are able to convert v into a percentage of the speed of light multiplied by
itself we get a lot cleaner numbers and it is easier to see the trends. The trends show
that has a spacecraft gets closer to the speed of light, or the percentage of the speed of
light continues to grow, the passage of time gets slower and slower in the spacecraft.
3) If v = c then the equation breaks. It creates a situation that is asking the formula to
divide by 0. This basically means that it is not possible for v and c to be equal to each
other.
4) When you try to make v > 1, it is also impossible. As soon as you make v=1 and you hit
the 100% of the speed of light multiplied by itself, you get an answer of infinity. This
means that it is immeasurable to calculate the difference in elapsed time from Point A
and Point B.