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The Universe (Cambridge O Level Physics)
Revision Note
Astronomical Distances
- Astronomical distances, such as the distances between stars and galaxies, are so large that physicists use a special unit to measure them called the light-year
- One light-year is defined as:
The distance travelled by light through (the vacuum of) space in one year
- The speed of light is the universal speed limit, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light
- But over astronomical distances, light actually travels pretty slowly
- The diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100 000 light-years
- This means that light would take 100 000 years to travel across it
- One light year is equal to 9.5 × 1012 km, or 9.5 × 1015 m
Redshift
- Usually, when an object emits waves, the wavefronts spread out symmetrically
- If the wave source moves, the waves can become squashed together or stretched out
The Doppler Effect
Diagram showing the wavefronts produced from a stationary object and a moving object
- A moving object will cause the wavelength, λ, (and frequency) of the waves to change:
- The wavelength of the waves in front of the source decreases and the frequency increases
- The wavelength behind the source increases and the frequency decreases
- This effect is known as the Doppler effect
- The Doppler effect also affects light
- If an object moves away from an observer the wavelength of light increases
- This is known as redshift as the light moves towards the red end of the spectrum
- Redshift is defined as:
An increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnet radiation emitted from receding stars and galaxies
Redshift & Blueshift
Light from a star that is moving towards an observer will be blueshifted and light from a star moving away from an observer will be redshifted
The observer behind the source observes redshift
- The Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies that make up the Universe
- Light emitted from distant galaxies appears redshifted when compared with light emitted on Earth
- The diagram below shows the light coming to us from a close object, such as the Sun, and the light coming to us from a distant galaxy
Comparison of Light Spectra
Comparing the light spectrum produced by the Sun and a distant galaxy
- The diagram also shows that the light coming to us from distant galaxies is redshifted
- The lines on the spectrum are shifted towards the red end
- This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us
- If the galaxies are moving away from us it means that the universe is expanding
- The observation of redshift from distant galaxies supports the Big Bang theory
- Another observation from looking at the light spectrums produced from distant galaxies is that the greater the distance to the galaxy, the greater the redshift
- This means that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us
Redshift & Distance from Earth
Graph showing the greater the distance to a galaxy, the greater the redshift
The Big Bang
- Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region that was extremely hot and dense
- Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the Big Bang
- This caused the universe to expand from a single point, cooling as it does so, to form the universe today
- Each point expands away from the others
- This is seen from galaxies moving away from each other, and the further away they are the faster they move
- Redshift in the light from distant galaxies is evidence that the Universe is expanding and supports the Big Bang Theory
- As a result of the initial explosion, the Universe continues to expand
Expansion of the Universe
All galaxies are moving away from each other, indicating that the universe is expanding
- An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where the balloon represents space and the points as galaxies
- When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close together and an equal distance apart
- As the balloon expands, all the points become further apart by the same amount
- This is because the space itself has expanded between the galaxies
Analogy for the Expanding Universe
A balloon inflating is similar to the stretching of the space between galaxies
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