Exploring Stellar Properties and Spectra

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What is Wien's Law?

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Wien's Law states that the peak wavelength of radiation emitted by a black body is inversely proportional to its temperature. It can be expressed as: λ_max = b/T, where b is Wien's displacement constant (approximately 2898 μm·K).

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How do you calculate the peak wavelength of a star with a given surface temperature?

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Use Wien's Law: λ_max = b/T, where λ_max is the peak wavelength, b is Wien's displacement constant (2898 μm·K), and T is the surface temperature in Kelvin.

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What is the absorption spectrum?

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An absorption spectrum is a spectrum of absorbed light, showing dark lines or bands where specific wavelengths of light have been absorbed by a substance, indicating the presence of certain elements.

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How can you identify an unknown gas using absorption spectra?

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By comparing the absorption lines of the unknown gas with known absorption spectra of pure gases, you can identify the unknown gas based on the matching wavelengths.

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What is the difference between absorption and emission spectra?

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Absorption spectra show dark lines where light is absorbed by a gas, while emission spectra show bright lines where light is emitted by a gas.

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What is apparent magnitude?

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Apparent magnitude is a measure of the brightness of a star as seen from Earth, without accounting for its distance.

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What is absolute magnitude?

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Absolute magnitude is the measure of a star's intrinsic brightness, defined as the brightness it would have at a distance of 10 parsecs from Earth.

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How do you calculate absolute magnitude from apparent magnitude and distance?

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Use the formula: M = m - 5(log10(d) - 1), where M is absolute magnitude, m is apparent magnitude, and d is distance in parsecs.

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What color of light has the highest frequency?

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Violet light has the highest frequency in the visible spectrum.

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What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

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The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, radio waves, X-rays, and gamma rays.