Astronomy Worksheet 1 02.

2016
Chp 7 - The story of our Sun (and all Sun-like stars)
Part 1: In the Universe there are places where great volumes of
gas and dust molecules can be found (these places are called
nebulae). These gas and dust molecules are attracted to each
other by the force of gravity (recall the formula for the force of

gravity: = 1 2 2 ; which means that any two masses in space are
pulled towards each other by gravity). As more and more
molecules are pulled together by gravity, the size of this cloud of
gas and dust increases and the heat inside the cloud goes up.
When the heat is high enough the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into
helium starts and a star is born. It is this nuclear reaction (the
fusion of hydrogen into helium: 4HHe+ energy) that produces
the energy to power the star throughout its entire life, giving it a
constant source of light and heat.
Fig 1: Eagle Nebula (gas
and dust) star forming region
* A star is said to be alive as long as there is nuclear fusion taking place in the core.
* All the properties of a star are determined by the initial mass (the mass present just as fusion
begins). Thats why, in some sense the initial mass is the DNA of a star. Nevertheless, unlike the
DNA of humans, the initial mass of stars also tells us how long the star is going to live, what way it
is going to die and what it is going to be in its life
after death.
Part 2: In a star, gravity keeps on pulling the star
inwards all the time. It is like gravity is trying to crush
the star down towards the stars center. There should
be a force in the star which holds it against
gravitational pull (collapse). This force is the force of
pressure coming from the nuclear fusion taking place
in the core. So, as fusion of hydrogen into helium in a
star begins, the force of gravity which pulls the star
inwards is balanced by the force of pressure, which
pushes the star outwards. This is the hydrostatic
equilibrium and the star lives most of its life happily
in this equilibrium. Our Sun has spent approximately
5 billion years in hydrostatic equilibrium and scientists
estimate that it will live in this way for another 5
billion years.

Fig 2: Hydrostatic Equilibrium in the Sun

Part 3: What happens when the hydrogen fuel in the stars core is over?
When hydrogen fuel is over the life-death struggle of the star begins. This struggle lasts 100
million years, which is approximately the last 10% of the stars life.
When hydrogen is over it means that: 1) the core is now full of helium (ALL the hydrogen has
converted into helium) 2) and that nuclear fusion is not taking place anymore. This, in turn means
that there is no pressure force available to balance the pull of gravity in the star. So at this stage,
gravity is winning the game; gravity is crushing the star and the hydrostatic equilibrium does not
hold anymore. At this point, the situation is desperate. In order to survive, a Sun-like star must find
another source of fuel.

As gravity is trying to crush the star and the star contracts, the
core inside becomes superheated. This temperature now is high
enough to make another fusion process. In this case, helium in
the core fuses to make carbon. As helium fusion begins, the
pressure force is once again established. This pressure now fights
gravity. At this stage, the star is expanding. In the case of our Sun
at this stage, the Sun is going to become so huge that it will
swallow Mercury and Venus, and it will come 1 mile close to the
Earth. The Sun is going to eject its outer layers of gas into space
and it will be left with just the core.
After all this, the helium in the core is now over.
Fig 3: There is no more pressure
force to balance gravity when hydrogen is over
Part 4: What happens when helium is over?
When helium is over it means that: 1) the core is now full of carbon (ALL the helium has converted
into carbon) 2) and that nuclear fusion is not taking place anymore once again. So, once again we
do not have any force to balance the pull of gravity. The star begins to fall in on itself (that is, to
collapse). For the last time, the star should find a way out of this puzzle or the gravity will be
merciless. Just like when a climber that is falling down under the force of gravity finds a place to
rest in a stair (recall the video we watched in class), similarly the star should find a place to rest
during its fall towards the center. The resting place for the star is called electron degeneracy.
What is electron degeneracy?
We know that in a normal atom we have a nucleus in the center
and electrons revolving around the nucleus with a lot of empty
space between the electrons. What happens in the Sun and all the
Sun-like stars that have run out of fuel is that gravity pulls the star
so much that the electrons are compressed in a very small volume.
But we know that electrons are negatively charged and we know
from electricity that like charges repel each other. So, electrons do
not like staying close together. The fact that gravity has glued them
side by side, with no space in between, gives rise to the last
pressure force that balances gravity: the electron degeneracy
pressure.
When gravity is balanced by the electron degeneracy pressure we
call the star a white dwarf. Therefore, what the Sun becomes in the
life after death is a white dwarf.
Fig 4: A white dwarf
Q: Why is the white dwarf a dead star?
Part 5: The white dwarf star is a very strange star. It has 300.000 times the mass of the Earth
compressed into a volume the size of the Earth. This means that the white dwarf has a huge
density. If you could take a teaspoon of white dwarf material you would see that it weighs several
tons!!!!! You wouldnt be able to lift it up at all!! This is like having the mass of a car in a teaspoon!
Q: Why does a white dwarf shine even though there are no nuclear reactions to make it release
energy?
All of the light that a white dwarf is shining is energy that it accumulated during its normal life as a
star, while it was fusing hydrogen into helium. So the white dwarf is spending its life savings.