PHYS 1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: 30 Foot Fall, Absorption Spectroscopy, Electric Field
23 Apr 2016
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Diffraction: the bending of a wave around an obstacle. Interference: the sum of two waves may be larger or smaller than the original waves. Water waves, sound waves travel in a medium (water air) Electromagnetic waves need no medium. (created by accelerating charged particles) Magnetic field lines (magnetic and electric fields are inextricably intertwined) Electromagnetic waves: oscillating electric and magnetic fields, changing electric field creates magnetic field, and vice versa (90 degrees to each other) Different colors of light are distinguished by their frequency and wavelength. The visible spectrum is only a small part of the total electromagnetic spectrum. Large wave lengths to small wavelengths (energy) Opacity: how much it blocks the radiation (atmosphere blocks radiation) Blackbody spectrum: radiation emitted by an object depending only on its temperature. Increases quickly, meets a peak, then drops rapidly (intensity vs frequency) Can determine the temperature of the star by matching up the curves.
