MATTER, MASS AND WEIGHT

• Matter is anything that

occupies a space and has a
mass.
• Mass refers to the amount of
matter in a body while weight
refers to be the gravitational
attraction exerted by a large body
of matter on an object.
 BASIC PHYSICAL STATES OF
MATTER
• The four basic physical states
of matter are:
1. Solid
2. Liquid
3. Gas
4. Plasma
THE BIG BANG

• NOTE: From time t=0s (the beginning of the Big Bang) many events occur with
extreme rapidity.
• IN THE BEGINNING:
• The entire universe was infinitesimally small and infinitely hot, all matter and
energy compressed into one megadense point.

• The four fundamental forces of the universe were all combined into one force, Supergravity.
THE BIG BANG

• Starting at time t=0s, the universe began to expand outward rapidly.

• Gravity separated from the rest of the fundamental forces, shortly followed by the Strong
Force.
• This leads to an event known as inflation wherein the universe grows billions and billions
of times larger.
• Over the course of the inflation, the Weak Force and Electromagnetic Force separate
from each other as well.
• At about 1 trillionth of a second after the Big Bang, Matter and Energy start to separate from
one another. This includes Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
THE BIG BANG

• At about 1 billionth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe was a dense sea of
quarks and other particles.
THE BIG BANG

• As trillionths of seconds passed, the quarks would undergo Baryogenesis, forming

Protons and Neutrons.
THE BIG BANG
• At t=0.01s the Protons and Neutrons begin to undergo Nucleosynthesis, forming particles that
would then form into light elements, Hydrogen and Helium
• At t=100s, Electrons and Positrons begin to annihilate one other to create Photons
• For the first 380,000 years, the universe was opaque. Light couldn’t escape the soup of other
particles because everything is still too hot and moving too fast.
• Eventually, the universe cooled enough and gravity slowed everything enough that the
Protons, Neutrons, and other charged particles could capture Electrons, turning them neutral
and less energetic.
• At about 100 million years after the Big Bang, gravity would have slowed matter down
enough that it begins to coalesce which would in turn create the first stars of the universe.
• 13.8 billion years after the Big Bang: the present universe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVsHjnY-o9s
STELLAR EVOLUTION
AND HEAVY ELEMENT
FORMATION
 STELLAR EVOLUTION
• The process in which a star changes over time
• Beginning:
• Stellar Nebula are formed by the
coalescing gases.
• The nebula’s gravity causes it to compress
in on itself.
• The compression causes parts of the
nebula to break off, creating heat.
• One of the broken up parts becomes a
central ball of superhot gas, a Protostar.
• The Protostar uses the remains of the
nebula to grow into its next phase, the
Main Sequence.
STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Main Sequence:
• A massive protostar will eventually reach a core temp. of 100 million
Kelvin, starting Proton-Proton Fusion
STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Main Phase (Cont.):
• Nuclear fusion combines two lighter nuclei into one heavier
nuclei and releases tremendous energy.
• The star then continues to use up the H in it, turning H into He
and releasing energy until no H remains at the core
• The next stage of evolution depends on the mass of the star:
• An average-sized star becomes a Red Giant.
• A massive star becomes a Supergiant.
STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Red Giant:
• Still fuelled by fusion of H into He
• Once the core temperature of the star reaches 100 million Kelvin,
Triple Alpha Process begins fusing He into C.
STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Red Giant (Cont.):
• Once the He in the core is depleted, H and He around the core are
ignited.
• The core itself is composed of superheated C and O coming from the
Carbon-12 Fusion cycle:
• C-12 captures a proton, becoming N-13
• N-13 releases a positron (e+) and a neutrino (v), and becomes C-13
• C-13 captures a proton, becoming N-14
• N-14 captures a proton, becoming O-15
• O-15 releases a positron (e+) and a neutrino (v), and becomes N-15
• N-15 capture a proton and releases an energetic He particle returning
to being C-12
C-12 FUSION CYCLE:
STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Red Giant (Cont.):
• Near the end of its lifetime a red giant will expel a large quantity
of gas and dust known as a Planetary Nebula.
• This nebula contains He, C, N, O, Ne, and small amounts of
heavier elements.
• Explains some of the presence of elements in the universe.
 STELLAR EVOLUTION

• Supergiant:
• Since it is so massive, the core of a
supergiant can break the C12 fusion cycle
to produce elements past C, N, and O.
• H > He, He > C, C > Ne, Ne > O, O > Si, Si >
Fe

• Near the end of its lifetime, a star’s core

will be mostly composed of Fe since
fusion reactions past Fe56require energy
rather than produce it.
 STELLAR EVOLUTION
• Supernova
• Once a sufficient amount of Fe is present
in the core, the whole star collapses in a
catastrophic explosion.
• Supernova release all the elements
previously formed in the star, free
neutrons, and a tremendous amount of
energy.
• There is so much energy that fusion of
elements heavier than Fe56 is possible.
• While all these elements are formed,
they are also flung away into the rest of
the universe by the force of the
supernova explosion.
NEUTRON-CAPTURE PROCESS

• But Fe59 is radioactive and unstable so it undergoes beta decay: and

becomes Co59
• Co59 can also capture a neutron to become Co60 but this is also
radioactive and unstable so it undergoes beta decay and becomes
Ni60
• And so on…
PROOF OF THE BIG BANG

1. Hubble’s Law
• Galaxies have been observed to be moving from the Earth at speeds that are proportional to their distance.
• Phenomenon discovered in 1929 by Edwin Hubble.
• Supports the expansion of the universe and suggests that it was once compacted.
2. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation
• 2.725 degree Kelvin background radiation in the microwave range that pervades ALL of the known universe.
• Phenomenon discovered in 1965 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
• The CMB is the evidence of the theory’s statement that if the universe was extremely hot and extremely small at one point in time,
then there should be evidence of this extreme temperature all across the universe.
3. Abundance of Light Elements
• The sheer volume of light elements, Hydrogen and Helium in the observable universe.
• Supports the model since these are the first elements to form in the high-energy environment during and shortly after the Big Bang.