UNIVERSE
UNIVERSE
UNIVERSE
1 UNIVERSE
Introduction:
Astronomy:
It is study of universe and calestial bodies, gas and dust within it.
It also includes observations and theories about solar system,the stars,the galaxies and general
structure of space.
Cosmology:
The branch of physical science whicgg deal with the nature of the universe,its overall
structure and origin,is called cosmology.
Defination:
Origin of universe:
“We are made of stellar ash. Our origin and evolution have been tied to distant cosmic events.
The exploration of the cosmos is a voyage of self-discovery”. (Carl Sagan)
“The problem of the origin of the universe is a bit like the old question : Which came first,
the chicken,or the egg. In other words, what agency created the universe? And what created
that agency? Or perhaps ,the universe,or the agency that created it ,existed forever,and didn’t
need to be created.” ( Stephen Hawkings)
Big bang theory:
The debate over the creation of the universe has evolved over the centuries from archaic
mythological stories through modern-day biblical accounts and still further into the world of
theorettical physics. The leading scientific theory about the creation of the universe is the
Big Bang Theory, In 1948, George Gamow proposed that the universe was created after a
large explosion, the Big Bang. Most astronomers believe the universe began in a big bang
about 13.7 billion years ago.Big Bang Theory states that
Dark ages:
1.From singularity to Time 10-43 sec: the cosmos goes through a super fast inflation expanding
from size of an atom to that ofa grape fruit in tiny fraction of second
2. Time 10-32 sec, Temperature 1027: inflation universe was a sething soup of electrons,quarks,
and other particles
3. Time 10-6 sec , temperature 1013:A rapidly cooling cosmos permits quarks to clump into
protons and neutrons.
4. Time 3 min, T 108: Still too hot to form into atoms ,charged electrons and protons prevent
light from shining the universe is a superhot fog.
Light ages:
5. Time 300k years ,T 10k(below 1 billion) :Electrons combine with protons and neutrons to
form atoms , mostly hydrogen and helium .Light can finally shine
6. Time 1 billion years, T -200:Gravity makes hydrogen and helium gas collapse to form
giant clouds that will become galaxies : smaller clumpse of gas collapse to form the first
stars.
7. Time 15 billion years ,T -270 to present day: A galaxies cluster together under gravity, the
first star die and spew heavy elements into space:these will eventually form into new stars
and planets.--Dark energy accelerated expansion.
1: Red and blue shift.(Analysing spectrum from a star or galaxy, how fast is moving and
wheather moving closer or away from earth).
Until recently, astronomers estimated that the Big Bang occurred between 12 and 14 billion
years ago. To put this in perspective, the Solar System is thought to be 4.5 billion years old
and humans have existed as a genus for only a few million years. Astronomers estimate the
age of the universe in two ways:
2) by measuring the rate of expansion of universe and extrapolating back to the Big Bang.
1).
Astronomers can place a lower limit to the age of the universe by studying globular clusters.
Globular clusters are a dense collection of roughly a million stars. Stellar densities near the
center of the globular cluster are enormous. If we lived near the center of one, there would be
several hundred thousand stars closer to us than Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to the Sun.
The life cycle of a star depends upon its mass. High mass stars are much brighter than low
mass stars, thus they rapidly burn through their supply of hydrogen fuel. A star like the Sun
has enough fuel in its core to burn at its current brightness for approximately 9 billion years.
A star that is twice as massive as the Sun will burn through its fuel supply in only 800 million
years. A 10 solar mass star, a star that is 10 times more massive than the Sun, burns nearly a
thousand times brighter and has only a 20 million year fuel supply. Conversely, a star that is
half as massive as the Sun burns slowly enough for its fuel to last more than 20 billion years.
All of the stars in a globular cluster formed at roughly the same time, thus they can serve as
cosmic clocks. If a globular cluster is more than 20 million years old, then all of its hydrogen
burning stars will be less massive than 10 solar masses. This implies that no individual
hydrogen burning star will be more than 1000 times brighter than the Sun. If a globular
cluster is more than 2 billion years old, then there will be no hydrogen-burning star more
massive than 2 solar masses.
The oldest globular clusters contain only stars less massive than 0.7 solar masses. These low
mass stars are much dimmer than the Sun. This observation suggests that the oldest globular
clusters are between 11 and 18 billion years old. The uncertainty in this estimate is due to the
difficulty in determining the exact distance to a globular cluster (hence, an uncertainty in the
brightness (and mass) of the stars in the cluster). Another source of uncertainty in this
estimate lies in our ignorance of some of the finer details of stellar evolution. Presumably, the
universe itself is at least as old as the oldest globular clusters that reside in it.
2).
An alternative approach to estimating is the age of the universe is to measure the “Hubble
constant”. The Hubble constant is a measure of the current expansion rate of the universe.
Cosmologists use this measurement to extrapolate back to the Big Bang. This extrapolation
depends on the history of the expansion rate which in turn depends on the current density of
the universe and on the composition of the universe.If the universe is flat and composed
mostly of matter, then the age of the universe is
2/(3 Ho)
where Ho is the value of the Hubble constant.
If the universe has a very low density of matter, then its extrapolated age is larger:
1/Ho
If the universe contains a form of matter similar to the cosmological constant, then the
inferred age can be even larger.
Many astronomers are working hard to measure the Hubble constant using a variety of
different techniques. Until recently, the best estimates ranged from 65 km/sec/Megaparsec to
80 km/sec/Megaparsec, with the best value being about 72 km/sec/Megaparsec. In more
familiar units, astronomers believe that 1/Ho is between 12 and 14 billion years.
Measurements by the WMAP satellite can help determine the age of the universe. The
detailed structure of the cosmic microwave background fluctuations depends on the current
density of the universe, the composition of the universe and its expansion rate. As of 2013,
WMAP determined these parameters with an accuracy of better than than 1.5%. In turn,
knowing the composition with this precision, we can estimate the age of the universe to about
0.4%: 13.77 ± 0.059 billion years!
Age crsisis:
If we compare the two age determinations, there is a potential crisis. If the universe is flat,
and dominated by ordinary or dark matter, the age of the universe as inferred from the
Hubble constant would be about 9 billion years. The age of the universe would be shorter
than the age of oldest stars. This contradiction implies that either 1) our measurement of the
Hubble constant is incorrect, 2) the Big Bang theory is incorrect or 3) that we need a form of
matter like a cosmological constant that implies an older age for a given observed expansion
rate.
Some astronomers believe that this crisis will pass as soon as measurements improve. If the
astronomers who have measured the smaller values of the Hubble constant are correct, and if
the smaller estimates of globular cluster ages are also correct, then all is well for the Big
Bang theory, even without a cosmological constant.
Fate of universe:
“Some say the world will end in fire,others says in ice” (Robert frost)
Just as Robert Frost imagined two possible fates for the Earth in his poem, cosmologists
envision two possible fates for the universe:
Endless expansion
The “Big Crunch”
If the density of the universe is less than the critical density, then the universe will expand
forever, like the green or blue curves in the graph above(flat or open model). Gravity might
slow the expansion rate down over time, but for densities below the critical density, there isnt
enough gravitational pull from the material to ever stop or reverse the outward expansion.
This is also known as the Big Chill 0r Big Freeze because the universe will slowly cool as it
expands until eventually it is unable to sustain any life.
If the density of the universe is greater than the critical density, then gravity will eventually
win and the universe will collapse back on itself, the so called Big Crunch(close model), like
the graph's orange curve. In this universe, there is sufficient mass in the universe to slow the
expansion to a stop, and then eventually reverse it.
Recent observations of distant supernova have suggested that the expansion of the universe is
actually accelerating or speeding up, like the graph's red curve, which implies the existence of
a form of matter with a strong negative pressure, such as the cosmological constant. This
strange form of matter is also sometimes referred to as the “dark energy”. Unlike gravity
which works to slow the expansion down, dark energy works to speed the expansion up. If
dark energy in fact plays a significant role in the evolution of the universe, then in all
likelihood the universe will continue to expand forever.
There is a growing consensus among cosmologists that the total density of matter is equal to
the critical density, so that the universe is spatially flat. Approximately 24% of this is in the
form of a low pressure matter, most of which is thought to be dark matter, while the
remaining 71% is thought to be in the form of a negative pressure “dark energy”, like
the cosmological constant. If this is true, then dark energy is the major driving force behind
the fate of the universe and it will expand forever exponentially.
1.Close model
2.Flat model
3.open model
4. Cyclic model.
1.2 GALAXY:
Introduction;
galaxy is a fundamental unit of the universe. it.consists of several hundred thousands of stars
together with interstellar gas and dust.Astronomers believe that there about 100 to 200 billion
galaxies exists in observable universe.
Defination:
“A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas,dust and
dark matter.”
Derivation:
The word galaxy is derived from the greek galaxias , literally “milky” a reference to the
milky way.
Size:
Range in size from dwarf with just a few thousand stars to giant with one hundred trillion
stars,each orbiting their galaxy’s own centre of mass.
- Galaxy Group: it’s a set of galaxies and contains less than 50 galaxies.For example: Local
Group (contains the Milky Way), Hickson 44.
- Galaxy Cluster: Is larger than a group and usually contains between 50 to 1000 galaxies.
For example: Virgo, Coma. S
- Supercluster: Is the largest collection of galaxies and contain many groups and clusters. For
example: Local Supercluster
Structures of galaxies :
b) Nebula. It’s an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other gases.
c) Multiple star system. Many stars we see in the sky, in fact, are systems composed of
groups of two, three, four or more stars held together by gravity that orbit a common center.
Shape
1) Spiral galaxies The arms of a normal spiral galaxy are filled with stars and gas clouds.
Spiral galaxies have a central bulge, or nucleus, from which a number of arms curve out.
2) Elliptical galaxies They have very little gas and dust. Because gas and dust are found in the
clouds that are the birthplaces of stars, we should expect to see very few young stars in
elliptical galaxies. In fact, elliptical galaxies contain primarily old, red stars. They come from
the collision and joining of other galaxies. They typically have a black hole in the center.
3) Irregular galaxies They are made up of young stars and a high quantity of dust and
interestelar gas. Besides, they don't have nucleus. They have a wide variety of shapes and
characteristics. They are frequently the result of collisions between galaxies or gravitational
interactions between galaxies.
Milky way:
“our galaxy is spiral in shape, contains 1011 stars with a diameter of 105 light years and it is
called the milky way.”
In addition to sun, the milky way contain about 200-400 billion other stars
according to greek legend, the pearly band of the milky way stretching across the sky
is milk split from the breast of the godess juno.
The nearest spiral galaxy to the milky way is andromeda galaxy; it is 2,200,000 light
years away from us.
this is our galactic neighbour along with large magellanic cloud which is 170,000
light years away.
the arms of the spiral galaxy are called the galactic arms.
A collection of galaxies is called cluster.
It is about 100k light years in diameter
Sun takes 250 million years to orbit around milky way.
Our solar system is about 30k light years away from centre of milkyway galaxy.
The majors arms of milky way galaxy are the pursues arm,sagittarius arm,centaurs
arm,cygnus arm.our solar system is in minor arm called orion spur/arm.
1.3 Light year:
History:
The 20th century astronomer Robert Burnham Jr, devised an ingenious wat to prtray the
distance of one light year and ultimatly expressing the distance scale of universe.
Defination:
A light year is a distance a beam of light travels in a single earth year or 9.7 trillion KM
approx.
It is an astronomical unit that measure distance in universe.
Explaination:
On the scale of the universe, measuring distances in miles or kilometers doesn't cut it. In the
same way that you may measure the distance to the grocery store in the time it takes to drive
there ("The grocery store is a 15-minute drive away"), astronomers measure the distances of
stars in the time it takes for light to travel to us. For example, the nearest star to our
sun, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years away.
the speed of light is constant throughout the universe and is known to high precision. In a
vacuum, light travels at 670,616,629 mph (1,079,252,849 km/h). To find the distance of a
light-year, you multiply this speed by the number of hours in a year (8,766). The result: One
light-year equals 5,878,625,370,000 miles (9.5 trillion km). At first glance, this may seem
like an extreme distance, but the enormous scale of the universe dwarfs this length.
“Solar system is a tiny part of a galaxy and consists of the sun and all the objects that travels
around it.it includes the earth, eight other planets ,along the settelites that travel around most
of them,it also includes dwarf planets,an asteroid belt,comets, meteors and other objects.”
Sun is the centre of solar system and all other objects in solar system orbit around sun, it
represents 99% of solar system mass.
Shape:
Composition:
1.5 Sun:
Sun is a star,a star is a huge ball of gas,mostly haydrogen and helium.nuclear fusion reactions
inside the star release enormous amounts of energy.stars are hot and give off their own light
Regions:
Core:extend from centre to 25% of solar radius,has density 150x of water, T = 15 million C
Convective:Energy moved through upward convection, meterial cool off at surface and plung
back to radiation interface ,absorb energy and move to surface and cycles goes on.
b)solar atmosphere :
c) visible surface : the interface between interior and solar atm is called photosphere, also
that part which is visible
Physical features:
Mass= 1.98*1030kg
Density=1.41g/cm3
Planets
My very educated mother just served us noodles(mars,ven,earth,merc,jup,satu,uran,naptu)
Tarrestrial:
Mars,venous,earth,merc
Close to sun
Small mass and radii
Rocky solid surfaces
High densities
Slow rotation
Weak amgnetic field
No rings
Few moons
Jovian:
Opposite to above
1.6 Earth:
Earth is most colourful and densest planet,it is biggest of all terrestrial planets
It is 3rd in position and 5th largest in solar system
Venus is closest to earth
Dia=12756km
Circum=40075km
Can support life.
30% land, 70% water
Moon=Luna
Atm=combination of gases mostly N2 and O2.
Revolution around sun=365 days
Revolution around itself= 23hours,56 min, 4 sec
Density=5.52g/cm3
Defination:
Unit of time (D): is the day defined as 86400 seconds, 365.25 days make up one julian year.
Unit of mass : is solar mass, solar mass 1.98* 1030 kg is a standard way to express mass in
astronomy,used to describe masses of other stars and galaxies.It is equal to mass of sun.
Unit of length: Average distance between earth and sun and is approx 150 million KM.Light
year and parsec are units for measuring huge distance.
Parsec is equl to 3.26 light years
2. PROCESSES OF NATURE:
2.1 Solar and lunar eclipses:
Eclipse:
An eclipse take place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into
the shadow of another heavenly body.
There are two types of eclipses on earth
a)Lunar eclipse b) Solar eclipse
Lunar eclipse:
Defination
The moon revolves in an orbit around the earth and at same time,earth orbits the sun.
sometimes earth moves between the sun and moon.when this happens,earth blocks the
sunlight that normally is reflected by moon,instead of light hitting the moon,s surface ,earth’s
shadow falls on it , thus result in lunar eclipse.
Explaination:
The earth casts a long conical shadow in space,At any point within that cone the light of sun
is wholly obscured.sorrounding the shadow cone also called the Umbra,
While an area of partial shadow called penumbra.
It take 3-4 hours from moons entry into umbra till its exit.
Lunar eclipse usually lasts for a few hours
Atleast two partial lunar eclipse happen every year,but total lunar eclipse are rare.
Types:
1. The moon only passes through the penumbra of earth’s shadow,rarely visible because
of slight cahnge in colour of moon.
2. when passes through umbra.
3. passes through umbral region and moon is totally obscured.
A totally eclipsed Moon is sometimes called a blood moon for its reddish color,
4. This is a total lunar eclipse during which the Moon passes through the centre of
Earth's shadow, contacting the antisolar point. This type of lunar eclipse is relatively
rare.
Diagram:
Solar eclipse:
Defination:
Sometimes when moon revolve around the earth it moves between earth and sun,when it
happens ,the moon blocks the light of the sun reaching the earth,thus result in solar eclipse.
Explaination:
If the Moon were in a perfectly circular orbit, a little closer to the Earth, and in the
same orbital plane, there would be total solar eclipses every new moon. However, since the
Moon's orbit is tilted at more than 5 degrees to the Earth's orbit around the Sun, its shadow
usually misses Earth
During a solar eclipse ,the moon casts a shadow onto earth,this shadow on earth consist of
two regions
a)Umbra or darker regions b)Penumbra or lighter region.
Serous cycle:Solar eclipses occur once every 18 months with largest duration of totality (7
min).
Atleast one and 7 is max no of solar eclipses in ayear.
Solar eclipse occur in new moon not in full moon.
Recent total eclipse occurred………..??
Sun dia is 400x that of the moon ,and sun distance from earth is also 400x that of
moon,therefore moon’s disk appears large enough to cover the sun’s disk.
Unlike lunar eclipses,solar eclipses only lasts for few minutes.
Solar eclipses always occur at the time of new moon.
Types:
1)Total 2)Partial 3) Annular 4) Hybrid
1. It occurs when the moon completely covers the sun,as seen from earth.Totality during
such an eclipse can only be seen from a very small area on earth.this area is usually
about 100 miles wide and 10k miles long.Areas outside this track maybe able to seea
partial eclipse of sun.
2. Can be observed when the earth, moon and sun do not allign in a perfectly straight
line, and moon only partially covers the disc of sun..
3. An aannular solar eclipse can be observed when moon appears smaller than sun as it
passes centrally across the solar disk and a bright ring or annulus of sun remains
visible during eclipse.
4. (also called annular/total eclipse) shifts between a total and annular eclipse. At
certain points on the surface of Earth, it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at other
points it appears as annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare
Diagram:
Lunar Vs solar eclipse:
Lunar eclipse canbe seen from any part of earth.
A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly 2 hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only
up to a few minutes at any given place
unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or
special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full Moon.
Selenlion, A selenelion also called a horizontal eclipse, occurs where and when both
the Sun and an eclipsed Moon can be observed at the same time. The event can only
be observed just before sunset or just after sunrise, when both bodies will appear just
above opposite horizons at nearly opposite points in the sky.
Explaination:
The spinning of the Earth around its axis is called ‘rotation’. The axis has an angle
of 231/2O and is perpendicular to the plane of Earth’s orbit. This means, Earth is tilted on its
axis, and because of this tilt, the northern and southern hemispheres lean in a direction away
from the Sun. The rotation of the Earth divides it into a lit-up half and a dark half, which
gives rise to day and night. The direction of the earth rotation depends on the direction of
viewing. When viewed looking down from the North Pole, Earth spins counterclockwise. On
the contrary, when viewed looking down from the south pole, the earth spins in the clockwise
direction
The earth rotation creates the diurnal cycle of lightness and darkness, temperature and
humidity changes.
The earth rotation causes the tides in the oceans and seas because of the increasing
and then decreasing gravitational pull of sun and moon.
Has created buldge at equator.
Rotation of earth causes an apparent deflection in flow paths of both wind and ocean
currents,deflection is to the right in north hemisphere and to the left in southern
hemisphere.(cariolis effect).
Revolution
Defination:
Revolution is often used as a synonym for rotation. However, in many fields like astronomy
and its related subjects, revolution is referred to as an orbital revolution. It is used when one
body moves around another, while rotation is used to mean the movement around the axis.
For example, the Moon revolves around the Earth and the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Explaination:
The movement of the Earth around the Sun in a fixed path is called a revolution. The Earth
revolves from west to east i.e, in the anticlockwise direction.The Earth completes one
revolution around the Sun in one year or precisely in 365 days,5 hours and 46 sec(known as
tropical year). The revolution speed of the earth is 30 km/s in an elliptical path.,because of
this elliptical path,the earth-sun distance is not constant rather it varies.
Benefits of revolution:
23 hr, 56
Earth 149.6 365.2 days min, 4
sec
24 hr, 37
Mars 227.9 687 days
min
9 hr, 55
Jupiter 778.3 11.86 years min, 30
sec
10 hr, 40
Saturn 1,427 29.46 years min, 24
sec
16.8
Uranus 2,870 84 years
hours
16 hr, 11
Neptune 4,497 165 years
min
Changes of season:
Inclination and polarity work together with rotation and revolution to produce season
changes.
Equinox:The earth axis is tilted neither toward nor way from the sun,resulting in a nearly
equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes,referred as equinox.Therefore on
equinox and for several days before and after equinox the length of day will be about 12
hours(march and september equinox Oo )
Solstice:
Event occur twice each year(in june and december 23.5o N and S)as sun reches its highest or
lowest excursion relative to calestial equator on calestiaal sphere.Longest and shortest days.
Rotation Revolution
Spinning on own axis Movement around sun
One roatation in a day One revolution in year
Days and night formed Seasons formed
Rotates from west to south Revolve counter clock wise
Speed at equator = 1000mph Speed=66000mph
Cause of tides,currents and winds Cause of equinox and solstice
Cause buldge at equator Balances centrifugal and centripetal force of
earth
2.3 weather variables:
Weather:
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or
cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy.
climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time.
Meteorologists scientists who study weather,forecast what the weather will be in the near
future
Weather variables:
1)Atmospheric 2)Scientific
Atmospheric Variables/Meteorologists :
All the air molecules are moving and bumping into one another with relative energy creating
pressure and temperature changes.
Air Temperature;
a measure of heat energy ,More heat energy = greater temperature
The amount of heat energy emitted from the sun is fairly constant but the amount that
reaches the Earth varies because of
…..Hours of sunlight per day , Summer= more hours= hot , Winter = less hours =
colder
…..The angle at which solar radiation strikes the Earth > Straight on = hotter ,Angle =
cooler
The type of surface that absorbs solar radiation are
1. .Dark, rough surfaces (land) absorbs faster = warmer
2. Light-colored, smooth surfaces (oceans) absorbs slower = cooler
3. The amount of cloud cover,Solar radiation is reflected, refracted, or absorbed.
More cloud cover during the day = cooler, More cloud cover at night =
warmer.
Humidity
the amount of moisture in the air.
Water vapor – water in the form of a gas; it is odorless and colorless.
Two ways to express humidity:
………. Absolute Humidity – the # of grams of water vapor in 1 cubic meter of air.
This is rarely measured.
………. Relative Humidity – the ratio of the water vapor actually in the air compared
to the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold at that temperature. (The
air is holding ___% of the water vapor that it can hold
Why is water vapor important? • Makes clouds and precipitation
Warm air can hold more water vapor.
Cold air can hold less water vapor.
Dew Point – is the temperature at which the water vapor in the air fills to capacity
and will begin to condense (Change from a gas to a liquid)
100% relative humidity = rain or fog • 0% relative humidity = desert
Relative humidity can be calculated by using a sling psychrometer. •
Wet Bulb – measures evaporation temperature
Dry Bulb – measures air temperature
Precipitation:
When there is too much moisture, the water will fall as precipitation.
Precipitation will fall in two main forms:
,,,,, rain or snow depending on the temperature of the air through which the moisture will fall.
,,,,, Other forms of precipitation are sleet and hail.
Snow : If the air is cooled below the freezing point of water, the condensing moisture
is quickly freeze into ice crystals. • The ice crystals join to make snowflakes •
Snowflakes are always six sided.
Rain : When droplets of moisture join together becoming heavy enough to fall to the
ground.
Hail : Formed in cumulonimbus (storm) clouds. They are frozen droplets of
moisture.
Sleet : When falling rain starts off in warmer air, but passes through air below
freezing, the rain drops cool and freeze onto surfaces when they hit the ground.
Facts on Precipitation :It takes 10 centimetres of snow to make one centimetre of rain, Dew is
moisture in the air cools off at night. In the morning it is found on everything. In colder
temperatures, dew is frost.
Atmospheric circulation
is the large-scale movement of air and together with ocean circulation is the means by
which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth. The Earth's atmospheric
circulation varies from year to year, but the large-scale structure of its circulation remains
fairly constant. The smaller scale weather systems – mid-latitude depressions, or tropical
convective cells – occur "randomly", and long-range weather predictions of those cannot be
made beyond ten days in practice, or a month in theory.
2.4 Weather variations(from book)
A greater aspect of our weather and climate is its variability. This variability ranges
over many time and space scales such as localized thunderstorms and tornadoes, to
larger-scale storms, to droughts, to multi-year, multi-decade and even multi-century
time scales
Some examples of this longer time-scale variability might include a series of
abnormally mild or exceptionally severe winters, and even a mild winter followed by
a severe winter. Such year-to-year variations in the weather patterns are often
associated with changes in the wind, air pressure, storm tracks, and jet streams that
enclose areas far larger than that of your particular region. At times, the year-to-year
changes in weather patterns are linked to specific weather, temperature, and rainfall
patterns occurring throughout the world due to the naturally occurring phenomena
The current condition and the state of the atmosphere at given time is called Weather. The
axes of the earth are imaginary lines on which the earth rotates. It links up the two poles,
South & North Pole. Both the axes and the two poles are tilted at the degree of 23.50 during a
revolution. The tilting of the axes result in direct sun light falling on different places during
different seasons. This causes variations in the durations of days, nights and season
Relationship between the location of the overhead sun and the seasons: similarly the
revolution of the earth and the titling of the axes result in different angle of the sun during
different periods. When the sun is directly overhead we call this overhead Sun. At this time
the earth’s surface and midday sun forms a 900angel. Different locations of the overhead sun
results in variations in the amount of solar radiation received in different areas under different
periods.
The overhead sun is over the equator, the equator receives the largest amount of solar
radiation. At this time the northern hemisphere in is Spring Equinox, whereas the southern
hemisphere is in the autumn equinox. The angle of the sun decreases towards the poles. On
this day the two hemispheres receive a similar amount of solar radiation, and the length of the
day and the night is the same at all places on the earth. After this it is spring in the northern
hemisphere where the day is longer than the night. In the southern hemisphere it becomes
autumn when the day is shorter than the night.
The overhead sun is over the Tropic of Cancer, it receives the largest amount of solar
radiation. At this time the northern hemisphere is in the summer solstice, whereas the
southern hemisphere is in the winter solstice. Then the angle of the sun decrease towards the
poles. On this day the length of the day time on the northern hemisphere is the longest in the
year, whereas in the southern hemisphere it is the shortest of the year. Besides, there are 24
hour of daylight on the Arctic Circle and 24 hours of darkness/night on the Antarctic Circle.
The overhead sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn, it receives the largest amount of
solar radiation. On this time the northern hemisphere is in the winter solstice, whereas the
southern hemisphere is in the summer solstice. Then the angle of the sun decrease towards
the poles. On this day the length of the day time on the northern hemisphere is the shortest in
the year, whereas in the southern hemisphere it is the longest of the year. Besides, there are
24 hour of daylight on the Antarctic Circle and 24 hours of darkness/night on the Arctic
Circle.
3.3 Tsunami:
Intro,causes,formation,cheracteristics,effects,management.
3.4 Avalanche:
Def,types,formation,causes,effects,management(prevention,mitigation,early wrning
systems,alarm system from wikipedia).
Formation:
Most avalanches occur spontaneously during storms under increased load due to snowfall
and/or erosion. The second largest cause of natural avalanches is metamorphic changes in the
snowpack such as melting due to solar radiation. Other natural causes include rain,
earthquakes, rockfall and icefall. Artificial triggers of avalanches include skiers,
snowmobiles, and controlled explosive work. Contrary to popular belief, avalanches are not
triggered by loud sound; the pressure from sound is orders of magnitude too small to trigger
an avalanche.
Classification:
There are many classification systems for the different forms of avalanches, which vary
according to their users' needs. Avalanches can be described by their size, destructive
potential, initiation mechanism, composition, and dynamism.
3.5Travelling cyclone: Tropical Cyclone, Middle Latitude Cyclone and Tornadoes
Defination:
In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale mass that rotates around a strong center of
low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in
the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anticyclone).
Structure:
There are a number of structural characteristics common to all cyclones. A cyclone is a low-
pressure area. A cyclone's center is the area of lowest atmospheric pressure in the region.
Types:
1) planetry 2) synoptic scale 3) Mesoscale 4)Microscale
1): Spanning somewhat smaller, yet large distances of a few hundred to several thousand
kilometers, are synoptic scale weather systems. Synoptic scale weather features include those
having lifetimes of a few days to a week or more, such as:
1. Tropical cyclone
2. Middle latitude cyclone
2): Weather phenomena that are small in size—too small to be shown on a weather map—are
referred to as mesoscale. Mesoscale events range from a few kilometers to several hundred
kilometers in size. They last a day or less, and impact areas on a regional and local scale and
include events such as:
1. Tornadoes
2. Thunderstorms
Tropical cyclone:
Synonyms:hurricane,Typhoons,cyclones,tropical storm.
Tornadoes:def,cheracteristics(time,speed,coverage),scale,impacts.
3.6 Drought:
Def,causes,effects(enviromental,economic,social) ,management
Types:
Meteorological drought occurs when there is a prolonged time with less than average
precipitation. Meteorological drought usually precedes the other kinds of drought
Agricultural droughts affect crop production or the ecology of the range. This condition can
also arise independently from any change in precipitation levels when either
increased irrigation or soil conditions and erosion triggered by poorly planned agricultural
endeavors cause a shortfall in water available to the crops.
Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such
as aquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall below a locally significant threshold. Hydrological
drought tends to show up more slowly because it involves stored water that is used but not
replenished.
Strategies for wildfire prevention, detection, control and suppression have varied over
the years. One common and inexpensive technique to reduce the risk of uncontrolled
wildfires is controlled burning: intentionally igniting smaller less-intense fires to
minimize the amount of flammable material available for a potential wildfire.
Prevention techniques aim to manage air quality, maintain ecological balances,
protect resources
Detection:
Fast and effective detection is a key factor in wildfire fighting. Fire lookout
towers were used in the United States in the early 20th century and fires were reported
using telephones, carrier pigeons, and heliographs.
In 2015 a new fire detection tool is in operation at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) which uses data from the Suomi National
Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite to detect smaller fires in more detail than
previous space-based products. The high-resolution data is used with a computer
model to predict how a fire will change direction based on weather and land
conditions.
In 2014, an international campaign was organized in South Africa's Kruger National
Park to validate fire detection products including the new VIIRS active fire data.
Post-fire risks:
After a wildfire, hazards remain. Residents returning to their homes may be at risk from
falling fire-weakened trees. Humans and pets may also be harmed by falling into ash pits.
Urban fire: def, causes, fire fighting and control,etc
6. MODERN MATERIALS
6.1 Ceramics:
6.2 Plastics:
6.4 Antibiotics:
Def,origin,history,source,prevalence,available routes,classification,propertiesmode of
action,activity,side effects,uses,limitation,resistance,(book).
6.5 Vaccines:
Intro,Def,vaccination,types,production,purpose,adverse effect,valence,synergism in
mixing,effectiveness,life span, cheracteristics,examples.
6.6 Fertilizers:
Def,nutrient,classification(ingredien,action),types,disadvantages(enviromental hazards,health
hazard,climatechange,atmpollution,eutrophication,expensive,infertile,acidification)adv.uses,i
mportance,magt,biofertilizer
6.7 Pesticides:
Def,history,types,benefits,effects,mgt.
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CHAP # 02 (4268)
2.1 Basis of life
2)Biomolecules:
Proteins: