How does the spectrum allow us to study the Universe? Detailed answer

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How does the spectrum allow us to study the Universe? Detailed answer

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How does the spectrum allow us to study the Universe?

We know that the study of the spectrum alone allows the astronomer to know what a star many billions of miles away is made of and what elements it contains, allows you to measure the temperature of a star, calculate its speed, and determine whether this movement is directed towards the Earth or away from the Earth. The spectrum consists of lines into which white light breaks up when it is refracted, passing through, for example, a prism. In addition to various color shades, hundreds of parallel lines are located throughout the spectrum. They are called "Fraunhofer lines" after their discoverer Fraunhofer.

Each chemical element in the gaseous or vapor state has its own combination of lines that take their place in the spectrum. These lines represent the colors that an element heated to glow absorbs from light. This means that a scientist can determine what any substance is made of, no matter how far away it is. Each element has its own "dark line", or absorption spectrum, which is different from the spectrum of any other element. By simply comparing the spectrum of the material being studied with the spectra of known elements, a physicist can determine what it is.

In other words, each element leaves "fingerprints" in the form of a light pattern. Because temperature causes changes in the position of an element's spectral lines, astronomers can tell a lot about the temperature of stars billions of miles away. When a star moves towards us, the lines of the spectrum shift towards the violet part of the spectrum. If the star moves away from us, the lines shift towards the red part. According to the degree of movement, scientists have calculated that some stars are rushing through space at a speed of 150 miles per second!

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Can carrots help you see in the dark?

Yes, in general, not really.

Carrots are a good source of vitamin A, a lack of which can lead to night (or "night") blindness, when the eye adapts to darkness very slowly.

The inner shell of the eye (the retina) consists of many light-sensitive cells - the so-called rods and cones. Cones are responsible for detail and color, but need a lot of light to function properly (like a "hard" emulsion). Sticks, on the other hand, do not distinguish color at all, but they require much less light (as a "highly sensitive" emulsion), and therefore they are used for night vision. The sticks contain a light-sensitive substance called rhodopsin, the key element of which is vitamin A.

The easiest way to cure night blindness is to increase the intake of vitamin A, which is most often obtained from carotene. Carotene is found in carrots, but even more so in apricots, dark-leafed vegetables (such as spinach), and blueberries.

Still, improving normal night vision and correcting its shortcomings are two completely different things. Eating carrots in large quantities will not help you see better in the dark, the only result you will achieve is that your skin will turn orange.

During World War II, English ace Captain John Cunningham (1917-2002) was nicknamed "Cat's Eye". His 604 Squadron fought exclusively at night. The British government spread a rumor that he could see in the dark because he ate huge amounts of carrots. This was deliberate misinformation to hide the fact that Cat's Eye Cunningham was actually testing a new (and top secret) airborne radar.

It is unlikely that the Germans believed this fable and immediately pounced on carrots, but it helped convince an entire generation of English children to eat a vegetable whose supply remained stable throughout the war.

It must be admitted that the government overdid it a little with the propaganda of carrots. Carrots have become "a priceless treasure dug up from their native British soil." The 1941 "carrot flan" recipe ("reminiscent of "apricot flan" but delicious in its own way") failed to fool anyone. Carrot jam and marmalade also failed to take its rightful place on the British kitchen table.

But the Portuguese love carrot jam. This led to the fact that in 2002 the European Union transferred carrots to the category of fruits.

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Discovery of the pentaquark 31.07.2015

Physicists from the LHCb collaboration as a result of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider for the first time discovered a pentaquark - a unique particle consisting of four quarks and one antiquark.

New particles weighing no more than 4,5 gigaelectronvolts have been discovered as a result of proton collisions at energies up to eight teraelectronvolts. The statistical significance of the discovery is nine sigma.

Previously, only hadrons of two (mesons) and three (baryons) quarks were known to scientists, and the discovered pentaquark consists of two up and one down quarks, as well as a "charmed" quark and an antiquark.

According to the theoretical model, a pentaquark can be formed either as a bound hadron of five quarks, or as a weakly bound particle of a baryon (two up and one down quarks) and a meson (a "charmed" quark and an antiquark).

Scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will continue their research to study the properties of new particles.

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