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Planetary evolution
Earths age
Earth is about 4.5 (or 4.6) BY old
First 700 MY Earth was a spinning cloud of gas,
dust and planetoids
These condensed and settled to solidify into a
series of planets
Since that time, geological history and evolution
commenced.
Oldest life?
Big Bang
~14 or 15 BY ago
Beginning of space and time
Expansion/cooling of universe began
Protons and neutrons form
Cooling initiated the formation of atoms first
mostly H (the most abundant form of matter in the
universe) and He (two lightest elements)
The universe
H2 and He gas are still the dominant elements in
the universe
Still about 99% of all material
Interstellar clouds
Stars
Stars form in nebulae, large diffuse clouds of dust and
gas.
Condensation theory spinning nebula starts to shrink
and heat under its own gravity
Protostar condensed gases
At temperature of ~10 million degrees C, nuclear fusion
begins (Hs fuse to form He) which releases energy and
stops shrinkage
Star is stable once fusion reactions begin (form atoms
as heavy as C and O)
Our sun
in 5 by
Our sun
eventually
Star classification most fall along main sequence band and are normal
Effective radiating temperature calculated using Weins law
Brightest bluest and most massive are O and B, early type stars (left)
Dimmest, reddest and least massive are K and M, late type stars
Our sun is a G2 star
Element synthesis
Series of fusion reactions producing
elements up to Fe
Fusion reactions convert a small amount of
mass to heat
Heats up star
Increases stars density
The end
H is consumed
Core collapses on itself
Internal temperatures sore so can no longer contract
Star implodes
Cataclysmic expansion called a supernova (30 sec)
Mass is accelerated outward
Forces holding apart atomic nuclei are overcome
Produces free neutrons
Heavier atoms formed by neutron capture
Heavy elements
Reactions produce stable and radioactive
elements
Radioactive elements important for
planetary evolution
Internal heat source driving plate tectonics
Elemental composition
Abundance of Fe
Fe is abundant in cores of stars that explode
Nuclear physics dictates that this element is the
most stable element that can form via fusion
reactions
Formation of other elements requires fission reactions
or reactions with free neutrons
Planets
Grew by accretion big clumps use gravitational pull to accrete condensing
matter
Near sun, first materials to solidify had higher boiling points (metals and
rocky minerals) Mercury is mostly Fe, Ni. Inner rocky planets.
Next Mg, Si, H2O and O2 condensed (plus some Fe and Ni). Middle planets
(e.g., Earth).
CH4 and NH3 in frigid outer zones. Outer gassy planets (Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune).
Terrestrial planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Nuclear physics sets relative abundance of
elements and inorganic chemistry controls the
chemical forms of these elements
Elements that form gasses largely lost from
planets as compared to chondrites
Elements forming oxides largely retained
Some loss due to volatilization
Chondrites found in meteors and thought to represent
original material that formed the planets
Early Earth
Homogeneous throughout during initial accretion of cold particles
Surface heated by impacts (asteroids, comets and debris) first 500 my
Heat, gravitational compression, radioactive decay caused partial melting.
Density stratification.
Gravity pulled heavy
elements to interior.
Friction during this
produced more heat.
Lighter minerals (Si,
Mg, Al and O-bonded
compounds) migrated to
surface forming Earths
crust.
3 sec ABB
Formation of basic elements
Protons and neutrons come together to form the nuclei of
simple elements: hydrogen (1 proton), helium (2 protons) and
lithium (3 protons) (1, 2 and 3 in periodic table). It will take
another 300,000 years for electrons to be captured into orbits
around these nuclei to form stable atoms.
10,000 yr ABB
Radiation Era
The first major era in the history of the universe is one in
which most of the energy is in the form of radiation -different wavelengths of light, X rays, radio waves and
ultraviolet rays. This energy is the remnant of the primordial
fireball, and as the universe expands, the waves of radiation
are stretched and diluted until today, they make up the faint
glow of microwaves which bathe the entire universe.
300,000 yr ABB
Matter dominates
The energy in matter and the energy in radiation are equal. As
universe expands, waves of light are stretched to lower and
lower energy, while the matter travels onward largely
unaffected. Neutral atoms are formed as electrons link up with
hydrogen and helium nuclei. Microwave background
radiation gives us a direct picture of how matter was
distributed at this early time.
300 MY ABB
Birth of stars and galaxies.
Gravity amplifies slight irregularities in the density of the
primordial gas. Even as the universe continues to expand
rapidly, pockets of gas become more and more dense. Stars
ignite within these pockets, and groups of stars become the
earliest galaxies. (Still perhaps 12 to 15 billion years before
the present).
The image on the left, from the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a
newborn star in the Orion Nebula surrounded by a disk of dust and gas
that may one day collapse into planets, moons and asteroids.
100 Trillion
Future
1037 yrs
Most of the mass that we can currently see in the universe is
locked up in degenerate stars, those that have blown up and
collapsed into black holes and neutron stars, or have withered
into white dwarfs. Energy in this era is generated through
proton decay and particle annihilation.
Isotopes
The ordinary isotope of hydrogen, H, is known as Protium, the other
two isotopes are Deuterium (a proton and a neutron; stable) and
Tritium (a protron and two neutrons; unstable). Hydrogen is the only
element whose isotopes have been given different names.
Radioactive decay spontaneous disintegration of unstable nuclei
For low atomic number elements stable is about 1:1 neutrons:protons
in the nuclei. For higher atomic number elements, the ratio is about
1.6:1.
Heavy nuclides (atomic number > 82) have no stable configuration.
Different types of decay
FYI: Fusion of hydrogen into helium provides the energy of the
hydrogen bomb
Some isotopes
Parent isotope
Daughter Isotope
Half Life
238U
235U
232Th
87Rb
40K
39Ar
14C
147Sm
206Pb
207Pb
208Pb
87Sr
40Ar
39K
14N
147Nd
*daughters are smaller and contain fewer protons, neutrons & electrons
Pb isochron approach
-pairs of isotopes for relativity
Timeclocks set at point of
crystalization
Earth formed over time period
as solar material accumulates
in planet as dust, rock and
planetessimals; this took 10
100 my (based on calculations)
Doppler shifting
Wavelengths emitted by objects moving away are
shifted to lower frequency (towards reds)
Wavelengths emitted by objects moving towards
us are shifted to higher frequency.
Example of sound pitch of fire engine is higher
as truck moves towards you and lower as it moves
away)
For galaxies outside our group, the redshift is
known as hubble expansion (after Edwin Hubble
who discovered this phenomenon in 1929).
Emerging field
Exobiology
Carbonaceous chondrites
Primordial soup
Reducing environments
polymerization
Composition of a cell
59% H
24% O
11% C
4% N
2% Others (P, S, etc)
Composition of a cell
50% protein
15% nucleic acid
15% carbohydrates
10% lipids
10% other