How is hydrostatic equilibrium defined?
n. A state of balance by which the internal pressure of a gaseous body, such as a star, exactly balances its gravitational pressure.
What 2 things are equal in hydrostatic equilibrium?
Hydrostatic equilibrium is the reason stars don’t implode, or explode. In astrophysics, in any given layer of a star, there is a balance between the thermal pressure (outward) and the weight of the material above pressing downward (inward). This balance is called hydrostatic equilibrium.
What does it mean when a star is in hydrostatic equilibrium?
Hydrostatic equilibrium: gravity compression is balanced by pressure outward. In any given layer of a star, there is a balance between the thermal pressure (outward) and the weight of the material above pressing downward (inward). This balance is called hydrostatic equilibrium. A star is like a balloon.
What will happen if a star is not in hydrostatic equilibrium?
Ask class: what would happen if an object were dramatically out of hydrostatic equilibrium? If gravity is unopposed, then the object will collapse or explode, on roughly a free-fall time scale.
What would happen if the sun was out of hydrostatic equilibrium?
(1) The Sun’s interior is in hydrostatic equilibrium. The tendency of gravity is to compress the Sun. If the Sun were to collapse inward under its own gravity, it would crunch down to a black hole in the course of a few hours. Obviously, such a catastrophe hasn’t happened.
Why is hydrostatic equilibrium important?
Hydrostatic balance allows the discovery of their specific gravities. This equilibrium is strictly applicable when an ideal fluid is in steady horizontal laminar flow, and when any fluid is at rest or in vertical motion at constant speed.
Which information can we get from the star color?
A star’s color is critical in identifying the star, because it tells us the star’s surface temperature in the black body radiation scale. The sun has a surface temperature of 5,500 K, typical for a yellow star.
What is the color of the oldest star?
As stars age, they run out of hydrogen to burn, decreasing the amount of energy they emit. Thus, younger stars can appear bluer while older ones appear more red, and in this way, a star’s color can tell us something about that star’s age.
What is known as the largest star?
The largest known star in the universe is UY Scuti, a hypergiant with a radius around 1,700 times larger than the sun. …