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Chapter 17: Problem 12

The solar corona has a temperature of about \(1 \cdot 10^{6} \mathrm{~K}\). However, a spaceship flying in the corona will not be burned up. Why is this?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: A spaceship does not burn up in the solar corona because, despite its high temperature, the particle density in the corona is extremely low. This leads to a significantly reduced heat transfer, meaning that not enough thermal energy is transferred to the spaceship to cause it to burn up.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the terms temperature and heat transfer

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. High temperatures typically correspond to a high average kinetic energy of the particles. Heat transfer, on the other hand, is the process by which thermal energy is transferred from one object or substances to another due to a difference in temperatures.
02

Describe the solar corona

The solar corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, extending millions of kilometers into space. It has an extremely high temperature of about \(1 \cdot 10^{6}\) K. However, it is also very thin and sparse in terms of particle density, meaning there are very few particles per unit volume.
03

Relate temperature, heat transfer, and particle density

Heat transfer depends on both temperature and the number of particles involved. In a high-density environment, such as a solid or liquid substance, heat is more easily transferred due to the increased number of particles, leading to a larger amount of thermal energy being transferred. In a low-density environment (like the solar corona), heat transfer is significantly reduced because there are fewer particles present to transfer thermal energy.
04

Explain why a spaceship does not burn up in the solar corona

Although the solar corona has a very high temperature, its particle density is extremely low. This means that the amount of thermal energy that would be transferred to a spaceship passing through the corona would be relatively insignificant, not enough to cause the spaceship to burn up. The sparse environment of the solar corona simply does not contain enough particles to transfer a significant amount of thermal energy to the spaceship. Therefore, despite the high temperature, a spaceship flying in the solar corona will not be burned up.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

When a 50.0 -m-long metal pipe is heated from \(10.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) to \(40.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\), it lengthens by \(2.85 \mathrm{~cm}\). a) Determine the linear expansion coefficient. b) What type of metal is the pipe made of?

Suppose a bimetallic strip is constructed of two strips of metals with linear expansion coefficients \(\alpha_{1}\) and \(\alpha_{2}\), where \(\alpha_{1}>\alpha_{2}\) a) If the temperature of the bimetallic strip is reduced by \(\Delta T\), what way will the strip bend (toward the side made of metal 1 or the side made of metal 2)? Briefly explain. b) If the temperature is increased by \(\Delta T\), which way will the strip bend?

In a pickup basketball game, your friend cracked one of his teeth in a collision with another player while attempting to make a basket. To correct the problem, his dentist placed a steel band of initial internal diameter \(4.4 \mathrm{~mm},\) and a crosssectional area of width \(3.5 \mathrm{~mm},\) and thickness \(0.45 \mathrm{~mm}\) on the tooth. Before placing the band on the tooth, he heated the band to \(70 .{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). What will be the tension in the band once it cools down to the temperature in your friend's mouth \(\left(37^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right) ?\)

In a thermometer manufacturing plant, a type of mercury thermometer is built at room temperature \(\left(20^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)\) to measure temperatures in the \(20^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) to \(70^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) range, with \(\mathrm{a}\) \(1-\mathrm{cm}^{3}\) spherical reservoir at the bottom and a \(0.5-\mathrm{mm}\) inner diameter expansion tube. The wall thickness of the reservoir and tube is negligible, and the \(20^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) mark is at the junction between the spherical reservoir and the tube. The tubes and reservoirs are made of fused silica, a transparent glass form of \(\mathrm{SiO}_{2}\) that has a very low linear expansion coefficient \((\alpha=\) \(\left.0.4 \cdot 10^{-6}{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}^{-1}\right) .\) By mistake, the material used for one batch of thermometers was quartz, a transparent crystalline form of \(\mathrm{SiO}_{2}\) with a much higher linear expansion coefficient \(\left(\alpha=12.3 \cdot 10^{-6}{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}^{-1}\right) .\) Will the manufacturer have to scrap the batch, or will the thermometers work fine, within the expected uncertainty of \(5 \%\) in reading the temperature? The volume expansion coefficient of mercury is \(\beta=181 \cdot 10^{-6}{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}^{-1}\).

\(\cdot 17.41\) A clock based on a simple pendulum is situated outdoors in Anchorage, Alaska. The pendulum consists of a mass of 1.00 kg that is hanging from a thin brass rod that is \(2.000 \mathrm{~m}\) long. The clock is calibrated perfectly during a summer day with an average temperature of \(25.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). During the winter, when the average temperature over one 24 -h period is \(-20.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\), find the time elapsed for that period according to the simple pendulum clock.
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