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Chapter 16: Problem 1

What is meant by the luminosity of the Sun?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The luminosity of the Sun refers to the total amount of energy that it emits per second. It is determined by the Sun's temperature and size, and serves as a benchmark for measuring luminosity of other stars in space.

Step by step solution

01

Define Luminosity

The luminosity of an object in space refers to the total amount of energy that it emits in a certain amount of time. When talking about the 'luminosity of the Sun', we are referring to the total energy that the Sun emits per second.
02

Factors affecting Sun's Luminosity

The luminosity of the Sun is affected by two main parameters. These include temperature and size. Higher temperatures lead to higher luminosity because they produce more energetic photons. Similarly, the larger the size, the greater the luminosity, since there would be more surface area for energy emission.
03

Luminosity as a Star Characteristic

The luminosity of the Sun also serves as a benchmark for measuring luminosity of other stars. It is used in this capacity as the Sun is the closest star to Earth, thus its properties are more readily measurable.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

High-resolution spectroscopy of the photosphere reveals that absorption lines are blueshifted in the spectrum of the central, bright regions of granules but are redshifted in the spectrum of the dark boundaries between granules. Explain how these observations show that granulation is due to convection.

Explain how studying the oscillations of the Sun's surface can give important, detailed information about physical conditions deep within the Sun.

Suppose thermonuclear fusion in the Sun stopped abruptly. Would the intensity of sunlight decrease just as abruptly? Why or why not?

Calculate the wavelengths at which the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona emit the most radiation. Explain how the results of your calculations suggest the best way to observe these regions of the solar atmosphere. (Hint: Treat each part of the atmosphere as a perfect blackbody. Assume average temperatures of \(50,000 \mathrm{~K}\) and \(1.5 \times 10^{6} \mathrm{~K}\) for the chromosphere and corona, respectively.)

Why is it impossible for the burning of substances like coal to be the source of the Sun's energy?
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