MODULE: From the Universe to the AtomTOPIC: Origins of the Elements (II)QUESTION: Describe the changes in the way stars undergo nuclear fusion as they age.
Stellar evolution
We may see thousands of stars in the dark sky. Our universe consists of billions of stars. Stars may appear tiny to us but they are huge balls of gasses. Sun is a star of average size. Some stars are even a thousand times larger than the sun. The stars do not exist forever they have a certain lifetime. The life span of the sun is about 10 billion years. The star undergoes various changes during its lifetime, this process is called stellar evolution. The structure of the sun-like star is shown below.
Red Shift
It is an astronomical phenomenon. In this phenomenon, increase in wavelength with corresponding decrease in photon energy and frequency of radiation of light. It is the displacement of spectrum of any kind of astronomical object to the longer wavelengths (red) side.
MODULE: From the Universe to the Atom
TOPIC: Origins of the Elements (II)
QUESTION: Describe the changes in the way stars undergo nuclear fusion as they age.
Nuclear fusion is the process which lighter nuclei combine to form larger nuclei. It is a thermonuclear process, which means that temperature in order of million Kelvin is required for the process. As the stars become older, interior temperature becomes lower. As a result, rate of nuclear fusion normally decreases with the aging of stars.
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