Astronomy

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Astronomy’s Place in Science

Astronomy’s Place in Science

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Enumerate the four (4) states of matter;
2. Critically understand the Atomic theory and other theories related to it;
and
3. State the important things about Energy and Nuclear Reactions.

Astronomy’s Place in Science

Astronomy is the study of the sun, moon, stars, planets, comets, gas, galaxies, gas,
dust, and other non-Earthly bodies and phenomena. It is a close cousin to astrophysics.
Succinctly put, astrophysics involves the study of the physics of astronomy and
concentrates on the behavior, properties, and motion of objects out there. Historically,
astronomy has focused on observations of heavenly bodies. However, modern astronomy
includes many elements of the motions and characteristics of these bodies, and the two
terms are often used interchangeably today.
Modern astronomers tend to fall into two fields: the theoretical and the
observational.
• Observational Astronomers
• focus on direct study of stars, planets, galaxies, and so forth
• Theoretical Astronomers
• model and analyze how systems may have evolved
Unlike most other science fields, astronomers cannot observe a system entirely from
birth to death; the lifetime of worlds, stars, and galaxies spans millions to billions of years.
Instead, astronomers must rely on snapshots of bodies in various stages of evolution to
determine how they formed, evolved, and died. Thus, theoretical and observational
astronomy tend to blend together, as theoretical scientists use the information actually
collected to create simulations, while the observations serve to confirm the models — or to
indicate the need for tweaking them.
Astronomy is broken down into a number of subfields, allowing scientists to
specialize in particular objects and phenomena.
• Planetary Astronomers
• Stellar Astronomers
• Solar Astronomers
• Galactic Astronomers
• Cosmologists

Course Module
 • Astrometry
Astronomers and spaceflight programs also contribute to the study of our own
planet; when missions primed at looking outward (or traveling to the moon and beyond)
look back and snap great pictures of Earth from space.

Four (4) States of Matter

A state of matter is one of the distinct forms that different phases of matter take on.
Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Many
other states are known, such as Bose–Einstein condensates and neutron-degenerate
matter, but these only occur in extreme situations such as ultra-cold or ultra-dense matter.
Other states, such as quark–gluon plasmas, are believed to be possible but remain
theoretical for now.
Historically, the distinction is made based on qualitative differences in properties.
Matter in the solid-state maintains a fixed volume and shape, with component particles
(atoms, molecules, or ions) close together and fixed into place. Matter in the liquid state
maintains a fixed volume, but has a variable shape that adapts to fit its container. Its
particles are still close together but move freely. Matter in the gaseous state has both
variable volume and shape, adapting both to fit its container. Its particles are neither close
together nor fixed in place. Matter in the plasma state has variable volume and shape, but
as well as neutral atoms, it contains a significant number of ions and electrons, both of
which can move around freely. Plasma is the most common form of visible matter in the
universe.
The four fundamental states of matter
• Solid
In a solid, the particles (ions, atoms, or molecules) are closely packed together. The
forces between particles are strong so that the particles cannot move freely but can
only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape and a definite volume. Solids
can only change their shape by force, as when broken or cut.
The particles (atoms, molecules, or ions) are packed in a regularly ordered,
repeating pattern in crystalline solids. There are various different crystal structures,
and the same substance can have more than one structure (or solid phase). For
example, iron has a body-centered cubic structure at temperatures below 912 °C, and a
face-centered cubic structure between 912 and 1394 °C. Ice has fifteen known crystal
structures, or fifteen solid phases, which exist at various temperatures and pressures.
Glasses and other non-crystalline, amorphous solids without long-range order are
not thermal equilibrium ground states; therefore, they are described below as non-
classical states of matter.
Solids can be transformed into liquids by melting and can also change directly into
gases through the process of sublimation.
• Liquid
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container
but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. The volume is definite
if the temperature and pressure are constant. When a solid is heated above its melting
point, it becomes liquid, given that the pressure is higher than the triple point of the
substance. Intermolecular (or interatomic or interionic) forces are still important, but
the molecules have enough energy to move relative to each other and the structure is
mobile. This means that the shape of a liquid is not definite but is determined by its
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Astronomy’s Place in Science

container. The volume is usually greater than that of the corresponding solid, the best-
known exception being water, H2O. The highest temperature at which a given liquid
can exist is its critical temperature.
• Gas
The spaces between gas molecules are very big. Gas molecules have very weak or no
bonds at all. The molecules in “gas” can move freely and fast.
Gas is a compressible fluid. Not only will a gas conform to the shape of its container,
but it will also expand to fill the container.
In a gas, the molecules have enough kinetic energy so that the effect of
intermolecular forces is small (or zero for an ideal gas), and the typical distance
between neighboring molecules is much greater than the molecular size. A gas has no
definite shape or volume but occupies the entire container in which it is confined. A
liquid may be converted to a gas by heating at constant pressure to the boiling point or
by reducing the pressure at a constant temperature.
Gas is also called a vapor at temperatures below its critical temperature and can be
liquefied by compression alone without cooling. A vapor can exist in equilibrium with a
liquid (or solid), in which case the gas pressure equals the vapor pressure of the liquid
(or solid).
A supercritical fluid (SCF) is a gas whose temperature and pressure are above the
critical temperature and critical pressure, respectively. In this state, the distinction
between liquid and gas disappears. A supercritical fluid has the physical properties of a
gas, but its high density confers solvent properties in some cases, which leads to useful
applications. For example, supercritical carbon dioxide is used to extract caffeine in the
manufacture of decaffeinated coffee.
• Plasma
In a plasma, electrons are ripped away from their nuclei, forming an electron “sea”.
This gives it the ability to conduct electricity.
Like a gas, plasma does not have a definite shape or volume. Unlike gases, plasmas
are electrically conductive, produce magnetic fields and electric currents, and respond
strongly to electromagnetic forces. Positively charged nuclei swim in a “sea” of freely-
moving disassociated electrons, similar to the way such charges exist in conductive
metal. In fact, this electron “sea” allows matter in the plasma state to conduct electricity.
The plasma state is often misunderstood, but it is actually quite common on Earth,
and most people observe it regularly without even realizing it. Lightning, electric
sparks, fluorescent lights, neon lights, plasma televisions, some types of flame, and the
stars are all examples of illuminated matter in the plasma state.
A gas is usually converted to plasma in one of two ways, either from a huge voltage
difference between two points or by exposing it to extremely high temperatures.
Heating matter to high temperatures causes electrons to leave the atoms, resulting
in the presence of free electrons. At very high temperatures, such as those present in
stars, it is assumed that essentially all electrons are “free”, and that a very high-energy
plasma is essentially bare nuclei swimming in a sea of electrons.

Course Module
The Atomic Theory
Democritus greatest contribution to modern science was arguably the atomic theory
he elucidated. According to Democritus’ atomic theory, the universe and all matter obey the
following principles:
• Everything is composed of “atoms”, which are physically, but not
geometrically, indivisible
• Between atoms, there lies empty space
• Atoms are indestructible
• Atoms have always been, and always will be, in motion
• There is an infinite number of atoms, and kinds of atoms, which differ in
shape, and size.
He was not alone in proposing an atomic theory, as both his mentor Leucippus and
Epicurus are believed to have proposed the earliest views on the shapes and connectivity of
atoms. Like Democritus, they believed that the solidity of a material corresponded to the
shape of the atoms involved – i.e., iron atoms are hard, water atoms are smooth and
slippery, fire atoms are light and sharp, and air atoms are light and whirling.
However, Democritus is credited with illustrating and popularizing the concept and
for his descriptions of atoms which survived classical antiquity to influence later
philosophers. Using analogies from our sense experiences, Democritus gave a picture or an
image of an atom that distinguished them from each other by their shape, size, and
arrangement of their parts.
As such, his model included physical links (i.e. hooks and eyes, balls and sockets)
that explained how connections occurred between them. In essence, this model was an
inert solid that excluded other bodies from its volume and interacted with other atoms
mechanically. While this bears little resemblance to modern atomic theory (where atoms
are not inert and interact electromagnetically), it is more closely aligned with that of
modern science than any other theory of antiquity.
While there is no clear explanation as to how scholars of classical antiquity came to
theorize the existence of atoms, the concept proved to be influential, being picked up by
Roman philosopher Lucretius in the 1st century CE and again during the Scientific
Revolution. In addition to being indispensable to modern molecular and atomic theory, it
also explained why the concept of a void was necessary for nature.

The Atomic Theory of Matter

The Aristotelian view of the composition of matter held sway for over two thousand
years until English scientist John Dalton revolutionized chemistry with his hypothesis that
the behavior of matter could be explained using an atomic theory. First published in 1807,
many of Dalton’s hypotheses about the microscopic features of matter are still valid in
modern atomic theory.
Here are the postulates of Dalton’s atomic theory:
• Matter is composed of exceedingly small particles called atoms. An atom
is the smallest unit of an element that can participate in a chemical
change.
• An element consists of only one type of atom, which has a mass that is
characteristic of the element and is the same for all atoms of that element.
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Astronomy’s Place in Science

A macroscopic sample of an element contains an incredibly large number

of atoms, all of which have identical chemical properties.
• Atoms of one element differ in properties from atoms of all other
elements.
• A compound consists of atoms of two or more elements combined in a
small, whole-number ratio. In a given compound, the numbers of atoms of
each of its elements are always present in the same ratio
• Atoms are neither created nor destroyed during a chemical change but
are rearranged to yield substances different from those present before
the change.
Dalton used three laws of chemical reactions as a basis for his theory: (1) The Law of
Conservation of Mass, (2) The Law of Definite Proportions, and (3) The Law of Multiple
Proportions. Dalton’s atomic theory provides a microscopic explanation of the many
macroscopic properties of matter.

Nuclear Reactions
This is an exciting time in nuclear astrophysics, one in which new observational
capabilities have allowed tremendous progress and have shed light on the complex path
that leads to the elements we see in our solar system. For some time, there has been an
understanding that we need explosive neutron-rich environments to produce the heavy
elements (heavier than iron). The abundances resulting from the slow neutron-capture
process (s-process) occurring in massive stars can explain roughly half of the solar
abundances observed around us. The residual abundances originate from the so-called
rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) that takes place in hot, neutron-rich
environments and thus involves neutron-rich nuclei very far from stability. Over the last
decade, the question we were asking was, “What is the site for the r-process?” At the time,
observations provided a roughly consistent picture for the r-process abundances, so there
was thought to be one site for the r-process, and the debate centered on whether it was
core-collapse supernovae or neutron star mergers.
In the last few years, astronomy has filled in much of the picture but, in doing so, has
revealed a situation that is much more convoluted than originally thought. The
accumulating observations of very old, low-metallicity stars have provided reassurance on
the robustness of the main r-process for the heavy elements but have also shown large
disparities in the abundance pattern for the lighter elements; such disparities suggest that
for this region, there may be more than one r-process site. One hypothesis is that another r-
process (different from the main r-process) could be taking place in neutrino-driven wind
nucleosynthesis in supernovae. This process has been referred to as the weak r-process.
For many years, there has been the idea of an intermediate nucleosynthesis process (i-
process) that involves neutron-rich isotopes further away from stability than the s-process
but not as exotic as the r-process isotopes. Over the last few years, we have come to
understand that a slew of different environments can trigger the i-process, including post–
Course Module
 asymptotic giant branch stars, carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, Pb-deficient metal-poor
stars, and rapidly accreting white dwarfs.
The recent kilonova observation following the merging of two nearby neutron stars
(GW170817) has unequivocally determined that neutron star mergers can produce
elements as heavy as the lanthanides in very large amounts. However, as astrophysical
models for these violent collisions advance, there is evidence of several phases/regions in
the merger event, with different astrophysical conditions in which nucleosynthesis could
be taking place. In parallel, the progress of multidimensional models for core-collapse
supernovae is still in the early stages when it comes to nucleosynthesis. However, these
models call for a better understanding of weak-driven processes on nuclei, particularly for
nuclei far from stability.

Guide Questions:
1. What are the four states of matter?
2. What are the different subfields of Astronomy?
3. Who is the scientist that the greatest contribution to modern science is Atomic
Theory?

References and Supplementary Materials

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. Astronomy; https://d3bxy9euw4e147.cloudfront.net/oscms-
prodcms/media/documents/Astronomy-LR.pdf; May 11, 2021
2. Atomic Theory of Matter;
https://www.unf.edu/~michael.lufaso/chem2045/Chapter2.pdf; May 11, 2021

Online Instructional Videos

1. The Four States of Matter; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1SIy56RLqI ; May
11, 2021
2. Atomic Theory | matter; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwhjCw-IUu0; May 11,
2021