Physics 1010 Project

Joshua Hill

Part 1: Star Identification

Gacrux

Mimosa Delta Crucis

Coal Sack
Acrux

Acrux (Alpha Crucis): 321 light-years from Earth. So, the light we see today was formed in 1697. It is
about 15.52 times the mass of the Sun with a luminosity of 16,000 times that of the Sun.

Mimosa (Beta Crucis): 280 light-years from Earth. So, the light we see today was formed in 1738. It is
about 16 time the mass of the Sun with a luminosity of 34,000 times that of the Sun.

Gacrux (Gamma Crucis): 88.6 light-years from Earth. So, the light we see today was formed in late 1929.
It is about 1.5 times the mass of the Sun with a luminosity of 820 times that of the Sun.

Delta Crucis: 345 light-years from Earth. So, the light we see today was formed in 1673. It is about 8.9
times the mass of the Sun with a luminosity of 10,000 times that of the Sun.
Part 2: Equation Analysis:

E = mc2
Question 1: Find out what the things in this equation (using your book or a net search will do it) are and
identify them as either variables or constants.

Energy (variable) = mass (variable) x speed of light squared (constant)

Question 2: What is the size of c2?

C alone is 2.998x108 m/s. So, squared is roughly 8.988x1016 m/s

Question 3: Are mass and energy related? Answer yes or no and then provide a brief explanation of your
answer based on the analysis of the equation.

Yes. According to the mass-energy equivalence, anything that has any mass will have an equal amount
of energy, and any energy will have an equivalent amount of mass.

Question 4: Analyze the statement: “if it is possible to change mass into energy a little bit of mass could
produce a lot of energy”. Is it true or not? Provide a brief explanation based on your analysis of the
equation

Theoretically it is true, but there is currently no known way to have a 100% efficiency of converting mass
to energy. For example, an atomic bomb works by forcing the nuclei of large atoms to fission into
smaller nuclei of different atoms. The process only allows about 40% of the atoms to undergo fission
and only about 0.03% of the mass to be converted to energy, which is released as light and heat.

d = gt2/2
…where:
d = distance an object falls when released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at the Earth’s surface
t = time the object has been falling

Question 5: Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the equation to support
your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations module files).

a) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects

b) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesn’t matter.

Since d equals the distance an object falls when there is no air resistance, I have to agree with option B.
Since g is the constant of gravity (9.8 m/s), time and distance are the only variables for this equation.
Since there is no input for mass in this equation, it would have to stand for any object that is falling
regardless of its mass/weight.
v = gt
…where:
v = velocity of a falling object if released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at Earth’s surface
t = time the object has been falling

Question 6: Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the equation to support
your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations module files).

c) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects

d) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesn’t matter.

Same as the previous equation, I must agree with option D. Again, since g is the constant for the force of
gravity (9.8 m/s), this leaves time and velocity as the variables and no input for mass. Since mass or
weight is not an input to the equation, it has to be applicable to any size object in the universe.

Question 7: For most of recorded history, people thought that heavy objects naturally and under all
conditions fall faster than lighter objects. Why did it take us so long to realize the true state of affairs?

People thought this in the past because they had no way to conduct experiments without air resistance
on the objects that were falling.

Question 8: The Earth’s gravity DOES exert a greater force on heavier objects than lighter ones (these
forces are called weight). However, with no air resistance objects fall at the same speed in a given
gravity field. The weight difference can be thousands of pounds to one and the objects still fall at the
same speed. What physical property of mass compensates for the difference in applied forces?

Size and surface area are probably the two biggest physical properties that make the difference occur. If
there is a large surface area which is spread out, like a feather, it will pick up a lot more air resistance as
it falls as compared to a baseball, which will fall at a much faster rate due to the smoother surface area.

e = 1 – Tcold/Thot
…where:
e = efficiency of energy use
Tcold = the temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine
Thot = the internal operating temperature of the engine

This is the equation for the efficiency of a heat engine (your car is a heat engine unless you have an
electric model). An e = 1 is 100% efficiency, meaning 100% of the energy gets used to do what you want
to do with no “wasted”, unrecoverable energy. An e = 0 is an efficiency of zero with none of the energy
going to what you want to do and all of the energy being “wasted” or in unrecoverable forms.

The temperatures in this equation are in the Kelvin scale where the lowest temperature is 0 degrees.
There are no negative temperatures in the Kelvin scale. A temperature we might encounter on Earth
would be about 300 degrees Kelvin.
Question 9: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by lowering the temperature of the
environment surrounding the heat engine (Tcold)? Why or why not?

In theory, it would be possible to achieve 100% efficiency because e would equal one, meaning 100%.

Question 10: Is it possible, in practice, to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering the temperature of the
environment surrounding the heat engine (Tcold)? Why or why not?

No, because there is no way to maintain absolute zero no matter how hard we try to keep it there.

Question 11: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by raising the internal operating
temperature of the heat engine (Thot)? Why or why not?

This theory would be possible to achieve but it would require an engine that would have to have an
infinitely high temperature.

Question 12: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in practice, by raising the internal operating
temperature of the heat engine (Thot)? Why or why not?

No, because there is no engine that has been created that could support the immense temperatures
that would be required to achieve 100% efficiency.

Question 13: If your car is not electric, it is a heat engine and is subject to the efficiency equation. Is it
possible to build a car, using any kind of burning fuel, that is 100% efficient? Explain.

No, it would not be possible to build an engine that is 100% efficient because burning fuel will not
convert the total volume of fuel into usable energy. Some energy will be given off as heat and gas that is
not usable by the engine will also escape.

Part 3: Learning about a Law of Physics

Pick any Law or Principle of Physics in your textbook and:

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

1. Give me an explanation of what it is and what it means.

“Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite
force on the first.” Basically, Newton is saying that any action that takes place between two objects will
enter an equilibrium of the forces exerted on both objects.

2. Give me 3 examples in the real world involving the law or principle.

 Leaning on a wall. As you lean on a wall you rest the force of your body on it. The wall will push
back on you with the same amount of force to keep you from falling.
 Standing. As you are standing in the open gravity is trying to pull you to the center of the Earth,
but the Earth is also pushing up on you to keep you from falling through the ground.
  Pulling a spring. As you pull a spring, the spring will use the same amount of effort you use to try
to pull itself back to its original resting point. This is a force you can physically feel happening.

Part 4: Explanation of Fermi’s Paradox and possible resolution

This involves the possible existence of alien life in the Universe. A net search should bring up some
immediate information on the subject.

1. Clearly explain what this paradox involves and why it is a paradox.

This paradox deals with the lack of evidence we have found to indicate if there are any alien lifeforms
elsewhere in the universe. It is a paradox because out of infinitely many stars and galaxies in the
universe there must be other organisms, but thus far, we have found nothing indicating their presence
or evidence of their existence if they have become extinct.

2. List and briefly explain (like in a paragraph for each) 4 possible resolutions to the paradox.

 Intelligent alien species could exist, but they have not yet developed the technology to travel in
space or communicate through the vast distances of interstellar space. For example, organisms
on the Earth are estimated to have been evolving for roughly 3.5 billion years, with the first
humans appearing nearly 200,000 years ago. After existing for so long, it has only been the last
century, give or take, that we have been able to produce any sort of signal (radio) to show our
presence to any aliens that may be looking at our planet, and only about 60 years since we have
been putting things into space.
 Intelligent life may not have risen anywhere else yet. As stated above, it took nearly 3.3 million
years for the first humans to appear, which is the only intelligent species to have arisen on Earth
as far as we know. Since evolution is such a random event, it is possible that it has not produced
any intelligent beings that are able to make their existence known to the universe. The only way
we would be able to verify they exist would have to be to physically monitor the planet that
they reside on via a probe, and with today’s technology that is physically impossible due to the
massive amounts of time it would take to travel to other star systems to monitor planets.
 It is also possible that alien species end up going extinct due to the natural processes of their
planet. For example, Earth has had five large-scale extinction events so far in the history of life.
Each of these extinction events were cataclysmic to the majority of the life forms on the planet
when they occurred. So, it may be likely that similar extinction events may have taken place on
other planets, but the resident species were not as fortunate as those living on Earth.
 Alien species may know of our existence but choose to not contact us because they fear it may
be too dangerous, for us or for them. As history shows us, when vastly different civilizations that
have met on Earth it normally doesn’t end up going too well for one of them. This could be
because of disease or war, mostly. The introduction of alien diseases has the potential to wipe
out all life on Earth, and vise versa, wipe out all alien life on another planet if it is taken back to
that planet. War could also be detrimental to either species depending on how advanced their
weaponry is.