Street-Fighting Physics!

"Flying In A Blue Dream"

Joe Satriani

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ASTR 100

Week 4, 5:

Chapter 2

Gravity, Acceleration

Background, History

Aristotle
Aristarchus
Ptolemy
Copernicus
Galileo
Brahe
Kepler
Newton

Concepts:

Earth-centrism
Epicycles
Crystal spheres
Heliocentrism
Circular orbits
Elliptical orbits
Gravity
Universal Gravitational Constant

Lab: Freefall tower

Calculate acceleration of gravity at Earth sea-level
Calculate Earth's mass using Universal Gravitational Constant ("G")

Newton's version of Kepler's Third Law:

Calculating period of Moon
Calculating mass of primary
Math review

Week 3:

Astronomic Scales

Scientific Notation/Basic Math Review

Text Chapter 1

astr 100 practice with scientific notation.pdf (PDF — 149 KB)

Week 1, 2:

Dark Matter - Dark Energy

Percentages in Universe

Dark Matter - 23%
Dark Energy - 73%
Normal Matter - 4%

Key Figures:

Fritz Zwicky
Vera Rubin
Albert Einstein

Evidence:

Mass Calculations vs orbital speeds
Gravitational lensing
Temps in intracluster medium

Characteristics of Dark Matter

Interactions
Emmisions
Laws of motion

Candidates for Dark Matter

MACHO's
WIMP's
Exotic Particles

Astronomic measures, astronomic scale

Light year
Speed of Light
Parsec
Astronomic Unit (AU)

UPCOMING (in no particular order):

Topics:

Type 2 Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Escape velocity

Recap of "Star Death"

astr 100 Death of Stars nov 2011.docx (DOCX — 24 KB)

TOPICS:

Star Formation
Open Clusters
Accretion
Protostars
Pre-Main Sequence stars
Effects of star mass on star evolution
Temp of Hydrogen Fusion
Interstellar Medium
Nebulae
Interstellar Extinction
Supernova Remnants
Gravitational Collapse
Bok Globules
Jeans Instability

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Stellar Formation: Birth of the greatest objects in the Universe

this video is partly a response to pgfracing and his video on stellar formation (lack there of), and partly to cement together everything I had learned about stars in my astronomy class. So enjoy, as ...

TOPICS:

Cepheid/variable stars*
Standard Candles*

* Check this link:http://www.astronomynotes.com/ismnotes/s5.htm

astr 100 Australia Telescope Outreach and Education.pdf (PDF — 241 KB)

*ALSO:

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Cepheid Variable in Spiral Galaxy [720p]

A Cepheid is a star that varies in light intensity over regular, measurable periods. The period of pulsation is directly related to a Cepheid's intrinsic brightness making observations of these stars ...

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The Michelson-Morley Experiment 1:1

The Postulates of Special Relativity 1:3 »

The Michelson-Morley Experiment space In 1887, Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley tried to measure the speed of the ether. The concept of the ether was made in analogy with other types of media in which different types of waves are able to propagate; sound waves can, for example, propagate in air or other materials. The result of the Michelson-Morley experiment was that the speed of the Earth through the ether (or the speed of the ether wind) was zero. Therefore, this experiment also showed that there is no need for any ether at all, and it appeared that the speed of light in vacuum was independent of the speed of the observer! Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929, but always with the same results and conclusions. Michelson won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907. The ether was a hypothetical medium in which it was believed that electromagnetic waves (visible light, infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, radio waves, X-rays, -rays, ...) would propagate.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson »

Albert Michelson,

First American

to win Nobel in Physics

Midshipman Albert

Michelson,

U.S. Naval Academy