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The Life Cycle of Larger Stars (AQA GCSE Physics)
Revision Note
Larger Stars
- A large star is one which is bigger than the Sun
- Stars that are larger than the Sun have much shorter lifespans - in the region of hundreds of millions of years (instead of billions)
- This is because they burn through the fuel in nuclear fusion much quicker than smaller stars
- The life cycle of a star bigger than the Sun starts in the same way as a solar mass star
1. Nebula
- All stars form from a giant cloud of hydrogen gas and dust called a nebula
2. Protostar
- The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer together until it forms a hot ball of gas, known as a protostar
- As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar will increase
- This will result in more frequent collisions between the particles which causes the temperature to increase
3. Main Sequence Star
- Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions occur within its core
- The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
- Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which keeps the core hot
4. Red Supergiant
- Eventually, the main sequence star will reach a stage when it starts to run out of hydrogen gas in its core
- Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down
- This causes the core to shrink and heat up
- The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity is greater than the outward force due to the pressure of the expanding gases
- A new series of fusion reactions will then occur around the core, for example helium nuclei will undergo fusion to form beryllium
- These fusion reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand and it will become a super red giant
- A super red giant is much larger than a red giant
5. Supernova
- Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the core of the star will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion
- This is called a supernova
- At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
- The outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during the supernova explosion, forming a planetary nebula
6. Neutron Star (or Black Hole)
- In the case of the biggest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will continue to collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole
- A black hole is an extremely dense point in space that not even light can escape from
Lifecycle of a star much larger than our Sun
Supernovae
- A supernova is a bright and powerful explosion that happens at the end of a massive star's life
- It occurs when the star is bigger than the Sun
- The explosion releases a large amount of energy
- During a supernova, all of the elements which were produced by the fusion reactions are exploded out along with neutrons
- The neutrons combine with the elements to form even heavier elements
- These elements are ejected into the universe by the supernova explosion and form new planets and stars
- Since Earth contains many heavy elements up to Iron, this is proof that it must have once been made from the remains of a Supernova
A supernova
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