Non-fiction

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http://www.augernorth.org/qascience.htm -this link has general information about most of the topics in this book.

1 General Info
2 Post Questions Here:
3 Chapters

General Info

Every day, millions and billions of light years away, a[n extra-galactic supernova occurs], scattering particles across the universe. Of the two types of Supernovae, Type I or Type II, of particular interest are Type II Supernovae. During a normal star's Main Sequence lifetime, dynamic balance is maintained through outward thermal gas pressure (from core fusion reactions) and inward gravitational collapse. This balance, known as Hydrostatic Equilibrium, is lost with the cessation of core fusion reactions. The production of Iron Group (Iron, Cobalt and Nickel) products in the core, produced during the high-mass star's last productive phase (Silicon burning), puts it on the fast track to a Type II supernova, one of the most energetic events in the universe. Unable to use the Iron that has built up in the core as a nuclear fuel, outward thermal gas pressure subsides and dynamic balance is lost. The core of the star collapses, releasing its enormous gravitational potential. As the core implodes at velocities approaching 20% the speed of light, it runs up against the degenerate inner core and rebounds with the resulting shock wave obliterating the star. (Edited by T. Madigan 7-11-2008, 10:45 AM)

Supernovae produce a host of particles, some of which become cosmic rays. When these Cosmic Rays collide with earth's atmosphere they break up into smaller particles. These smaller particles include pions, kaons and mesons, which then decay into smaller, elementary particles, known as muons. These cosmic rays can also be used for earthquake detection and possibly prevention. Geological records and cosmic ray records have suggest that cosmic rays may have an effect on earthquakes. However, this is a very controversial topic and nothing has been proven yet. My theory on this subject is: low energy cosmic rays as well as high energy cosmic rays have the ability to influence earthquakes. The way they do this is by penetrating through the depleted ozone layer, thus being a higher energy. When they strike the ground there is a delayed reaction due to the decay rate, buildup of energy and inhibiting factors that the muon may encounter below the Earth’s surface. (Edited by T. Madigan 7-11-2008, 10:47 AM)

Cosmic rays have an intensity (brightness) of about 1 muon (cm 2 min) and have a mean energy of a few GeV, so they can be harmful at high altitudes, with long exposure. Cosmic rays have also long inspired controversies; topics such as their origin, level of danger and relation to seismic activity have not yet been completely identified. Low energy cosmic rays are believed to come from the sun, from it’s chromosphere, whereas higher energy cosmic rays continue to baffle scientists; they theorize that cosmic rays are sent from deep in space, but do not know exactly where. (For a cosmic ray particle to be considered rare and ultra high energy, it must have an energy of 107-1010 eV.) The hypothesis for the source of these high energy cosmic rays is that a supernova produces shock waves which then energize the cosmic ray ions. Since these high energy cosmic rays are so powerful, they can’t be contained well, so the galaxy’s magnetic field sometimes loses control of them and sends them shooting off somewhere into space. From this information, scientists can conclude that there is a driving force working outside the galaxy which propels and controls cosmic rays with 1018 billion electron volts or greater. A cosmic ray said to have contained 20-40 billion electron volts, struck the atmosphere on December 3rd, 1959, and was said to have been the biggest and most powerful cosmic ray ever recorded to enter Earth’s atmosphere, it was said to have come from far out in space. (From Way out). This was followed nearly 40 years later (October 15th, 1991) by what is known amongst scientists as the “oh my god particle” which was measured at 3X10²⁰ electronvolts, equivalent to about 50 joules — in other words, it was a subatomic particle with macroscopic kinetic energy equal to that of a baseball (140 g) which is moving at about 27 m/s (60 mph). As I mentioned previously, cosmic rays are emitted from supernovae, or the bursting of stars. Every 150 million years (approximately), the Earth passes through the Perseus arm of the Milky Way, where most supernovae tend to occur. Since we would be so close to these events, the chances of getting hit with not only cosmic rays, but high energy ones, are much more likely. Scientists have used paleoclimate records to conclude that the Earth enters a cooling period whenever we pass through this arm, telling them that the cosmic rays hitting us may also have an effect on our climate.

Rays from Galactic sources During the period 1992-2008 12 metagalactic and galactic sources have been observed. Among them are galactic sources Crab Nebula (supernova remnant), CygnusX-3 (binary), Tycho's SNR (supernova remnant), Geminga (radio weak pulsar) and2129+47 (binary)

Since the prehistoric times, humans have begun to recognize what we know now as cosmic radiation or cosmic rays. As time progressed, people began to learn more and more about them like where they might have come from and what they cause. There are some suspicions that cosmic rays might have had some part in ancient religions and some people say evolution. From these rays, we can develop theories on things like supernovae and gamma radiation. The joint Soviet-American team claims that they saw an immense formation of glowing clouds in the Cygnus constellation about 150 light years away. This is the Cygnus Veil, Veil nebula. This event is questioned as to whether it brought cosmic rays to the Earth and made humanity evolve. Early humans evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago and evolved over time. Our ancestors were capable of making tools and technologies (suited for their time) to use for everyday life, such as jewelry, clothes and fishing hooks. But despite these inventions, there is something even more amazing. There were spontaneous evolutions that are believed to be brought about by sudden chemical changes or environmental factors in early humans during the Paleolithic age. These people were advanced in art and religion. They started a trend of cave paintings that spread across Europe. Denis Montgomery, a British anthropologist, states that these advancements might have been caused by a supernova explosion that occurred 35,000 years ago. This perhaps caused an increase in Cosmic Rays, which acted as a mutagen and affected the brains neurological processes. Bue he has been proven wrong, for, the Cygnus Veil is 1,800 rather than 150 light years away and the supernova occurred 5-8,000 years ago. There is no way that this could have affected homo sapiens 35,000 years ago. Dr. Aden Meinel told his colleagues in December 2005, that high levels of Beryllium10 were found in ice cores in Antarctica and Greenland. These were believed to have been responsible for sudden evolutionary changes in humans 40,000-35,000 years ago. He says that the source of the cosmic rays was from the Cats Eye Nebula in the constellation Draco. Dr. Meinel and his colleagues propose that this was once a binary system consisting of a super giant and an active black hole, spewing out jets of plasma or ionized gas at velocities close to the speed of light. The Cygnus constellation has been represented for many years in things like paintings and religion. People associated the constellation with the deepest part of caves, and no one knows why. Cygnus X-3 (a neutron star or a black hole) emits cosmic rays that are strong enough to penetrate deep underneath the ground. This was discovered when a rare, distinct form of cosmic rays were found in Minnesota. Cygnus X-3 was confirmed as the galaxys’ first blazer, which produces plasma jets which penetrate the Earths’ surface. Scientists think that early cave people were aware of the oncoming cosmis rays because they produce Cherenkov radiation, which appears as an objective burst of light as it passes through the water of the eye. Astronauts first discovered this in 1968 when they were aboard the Apollo 11. The astronauts could see flashes of light (which were cosmic rays coming through the Apollo 11 spacecraft) with their eyes open and closed. Scientists question whether the Paleolithic people saw these flashes of light underground and thought of them as a religious symbol. Scientists wonder when the next shower of cosmic particles will occur, for it has already happened 3 times this year already, and if it will affect us. Records from the Phanerozoic (past 545m.y.) indicate drastic changes in temperature called icehouses and greenhouses. These climate shifts were said to have been caused by environmental factors such as a shift in ocean currents, or atmospheric composition. Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) is the most probable candidate for the climate change according to opinion, but research proves that it is an improbable source for pCO₂ levels changing. Models have been constructed to show past climate records but the patterns aren’t stable and don’t correlate with the Paleoclimate records. There is however, evidence of relationships between cosmic ray activity and Paleoclimate records. These correlations suggest that extraterrestrial phenomena are to blame for the shift in climate. Cosmic ray fluxes are being observed as a cause because; they are affected by solar winds that can cause them to reach the Earth. The cosmic rays reaching the Earth then mix with the low altitude cloud cover, causing (in order), a brighter sun, enhanced thermal flux + solar wind, mutated CRF (cosmic ray flux), less low level clouds, less albedo and a warmer climate. CRFs also affect things like the atmospheric ionization rate and the formation of charged aerosols which may serve as cloud condensation nuclei. Despite this data, scientists are still missing a robust physical formulation for the solar-CRF-climate link. Scientists think that the CO₂ may instead of driving the climate shift, be following it and acting like an amplifier for it. The pattern of climate in the Phanerozoic is not monotonous, but instead, unpredictable. This may help to explain some of the things that scientists anticipated. It has been said that the CRF reaching the planet has an extrinsic variability due to solar wind and it also has an intrinsic variability due to a variable interstellar environment. An example of this would be a nearby supernova which would deposit high levels of cosmic rays throughout the solar system causing things like major climate shifts. Nonetheless, scientists think that intrinsic CRF variations affect our climate the most. Scientists used diffusion model parameters to measure the amount of CRFs reaching the Earth. Scientists used models to represent the Earth, its climate variability factors and its record climates. They also have a way to rule out any incorrect data and find the correct one. Scientists found that the normalization parameter D varied between 3-12 degrees Celsius but they have no confirmed limit on the amplitude of variation of the CRF itself except for the lower limit of 2.5 for its maximum/minimum ratio. The “spiral arms” of the Milky Way have a jitter in their normal orbit, and at one point, they crossed. Scientists have made assumptions as to when they crossed paths and they assume that it was 30 million years ago, which was before the midpoint of the high CRF-climate episode. Scientists have said that it is entirely possible that none of the reconstructed Phanerozoic pCO₂ curves are a replica of reality. They found that with none of the CO2 reconstructions can the doubling effect of CO₂ on low latitude sea temperatures be larger than 1.9 degrees Celsius. They estimate it to be around 1.5 degrees Celsius. This research shows climate evolution on geologic time scales and the factors which influence it. It suggests that celestial actions may be to blame for climate shift, or that the Earth has a stabilitizing negative feedback mechanism in its atmosphere. The reason for this climate change is still pending, but there could be more evidence to test. Cosmic rays, as well as having a correlation with climate, have similarities to starlight. Cosmic rays are given as much energy as the stars. That doesn’t seem like a lot of energy, but you have to factor in that the stars are distant suns. The radiation is not intense, because cosmic ray particles can last for a long time, whereas starlight can only last for about 5,000-50,000 years. Cosmic rays last 1,000 times longer than stars and they only need 1/1,000 of the energy output of the stars. There is a certain type of cosmic rays called “primary” cosmic rays. These cosmic rays collide high up in the atmosphere and release small particles which fall down to the Earth. Studies show that these particles were made up of hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, iron, etc. Cosmic rays are strong particles, they are strong enough to penetrate our atmosphere and shower down on us. Cosmic ray particles with extremely high energies are a very rare find, but when they explode, they release particles that can penetrate a mile underground. WOW! The thing that scientists are trying to find out about them is how they gain so much energy. Nobody knows exactly where cosmic rays come from but we know that they are not spread out evenly across the sky. The hypothesis for their source is a supernova that produces shock waves which energize the cosmic ray ions. A supernova occurs when a star no longer has the ability to produce nuclear heat and it collapses, releasing a gigantic amount of gravitational energy, which is absorbed by nuclear processes and used to heat the remnants of the star. Cosmic rays are moved and sometimes trapped by magnetic fields in space. Sometimes they collide with other matter in space and form a nuclear explosion which produces gamma rays. Gamma rays then may collide with the atmosphere, producing showers of gamma rays, electrons and positrons. These collisions produce Cherenkov light, (as I mentioned before) which indicate the presence of very high levels of gamma rays. Some of which collide in the atmosphere, and some of which collide in space. They each have a different “signature” which can be easily determined. Scientists have discovered a new way to observe these gamma ray activities, the HESS telescope array, HESS standing for high energy spectroscopic system and acknowledging victor Hess (the discoverer of cosmic rays in 1912). With this discovery, scientists will soon know more about the origin of cosmic radiation. There are two types of Cosmic Rays, “primary” cosmic rays and “secondary” cosmic rays. Primary cosmic rays are (generally) all particles that come from outer space. Secondary cosmic rays are particles which result from cosmic rays colliding with the atmosphere. The sun is a source of cosmic rays but they are low energy cosmic rays. These are the cosmic rays which cause the Aurora. In the northern hemisphere, this is called the Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, in the southern hemisphere, it is known as the Aurora Australis. The sun also has an effect on high energy cosmic rays, or Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). These rays come form interstellar space and are influenced by the heliosphere (made up of solar winds- plasma, loose protons and electrons) and by the suns magnetic field. The numbers of Cosmic Rays which reach the Earth depend on the suns activity. In the 11 year cycle that the sun undergoes, solar maximums (many sun spots) and solar minimums (fewer sun spots) which keep out or let in cosmic rays.

Supernovas were first explored in 1572 by a Danish astronomer and nobleman named Tycho Brahe and 400 years later rediscovered by a man in California, Fritz Zwicky. Zwicky implied that a star will gain density until it is so dense, it explodes. Then, in 1960, Fred Hoyle and Willy Fowler came up with the idea that a star lets out hydrogen and helium fuel and converts it into carbon and oxygen. The transformation results in a huge blast of energy and it produces radioactive nickel 56. Though there are supernovae that show no signs of hydrogen, both of these theories prove to be correct. In both cases, the stars are reduced to a cloud of gaseous debris, and a hyperdense neuron star or a black hole in some extreme cases. White dwarf stars are the result of a star similar to the sun exploding. Hoyle and Fowler say that if a white dwarf star orbits another star too closely, then a supernova will occur. Scientists cannot stimulate a supernova in a lab, it has to be recreated on a computer, because it is far too complex to perform in a lab, researchers are just learning to create supernovae on the computer now. An unexpected comparison has come about for supernovae. Scientists compare supernovae with car engines. They say that both have to fuse chemicals together to spark an ignition, and after that comes turbulence. They are also similar through the process of detonation, when, for stars, the star is incinerated and all that is left of it are fused elements, such as nickel and iron. Researchers have found a code to study chemical combustion and weather. They chose to study turbulence, and kinetic energy. No one understands yet what starts the ignition of a white dwarf star, and why deflagration only leaves a small portion of the star, at most, unchanged, when it should be leaving a large portion of the star unchanged. They also have yet to discover why both deflagration and detonation occur in thermonuclear supernovae and why there is a variety of explosions. The other type of supernovae is more complicated to explain. The result of the explosion varies each time. For example, some supernovae may have hydrogen, and some may not. The biggest and most powerful supernovae produce long lasting gamma ray bursts. Core-collapse supernovae are the prime candidates for producing heavy elements such as gold, lead, thorium, and uranium. But do such conditions that are needed to produce these elements exist? The core of a stellar core is comprised mostly of iron and its structural integrity is maintained by quantum repulsion between electrons. The electrons then get squeezed into the nuclei, where they react with the protons to form neutrinos and electron neutrinos. Then, the remaining particles (neutrons and protons) are packed together and are supposed to stop the explosion, but instead, the effect is reversed and they cause an explosion. The question is, how does the star actually blow itself apart. The neutrinos are suspected to have a burst of energy to cause an explosion. This on its own wouldn’t be enough to cause a supernova, unless, the stars are spherically symmetrical and a lopsided explosion results, which would explain why supernovae are so disfigured. Because the explosion results more to one side, the neutron star is pushed out to the side. Researchers still have not figured out how supernovae occur, and they haven’t got any models that show sufficient realism to the explosions. Maybe in the years to come, they will explore the mystery that is supernovae and understand how they work.

Cosmic rays can be divided into different categories based on where they originate, such as from galaxies far, far away or from flares from the sun within the heliosphere. These include solar cosmic rays, galactic cosmic rays, extragalactic, and ultra-high energy cosmic rays. When looking at the numbers, we see that extragalactic rays have been traveling for a long time considering the nearest galaxy, Andromeda, is 2 million light years away. The rays can come from active galactic nuclei that can be powered by a super massive black hole. The particles can be accelerated in a similar manner done by a black hole that is seen with neutron stars. Due to the gravitational pull, the neutron star could form a binary star system with a nearby star. The neutron star will actually attract material from around the neighboring star that increases in temperature as it is pulled towards the neutron star in an accretion disk. Strong electric and magnetic fields are created which are believed to have the potential to accelerate cosmic particles. Supernovas occur when a star collapses on itself from the eventual switch from hydrogen burning to helium, to carbon, to neon, to oxygen, and finally to silicon. At the end, the star contains an iron core which is not expanding to prevent the star from collapsing. The iron core is put under so much pressure that it forces protons and electrons to create neutrons which gives of massive amounts of neutrinos. The rest of the star’s mass comes tumbling down, heats up, and bounces back out from the pressure of the escaping neutrinos. As the star explodes, nearby gas in the outer atmosphere is ignited as the cataclysmal event continues outward with the nuclei flying in every direction. Cosmic rays also vary across an extremely large spectrum of energy measured in electron volts. Cosmic rays can usually reach up to 10^16 ev where they are believed to originate from supernovas. The UHECR’s can reach energies of up to 10^20 ev. An example was in 1992 about 25km away from Utah. It hit Earth’s atmosphere moving at 99.99999999999999999999% of the speed of light. Of course, the problem with detection of these cosmic rays is that as their energy increases, the chance of them entering our atmosphere decreases. Another way cosmic rays can be divided up is by primary and secondary particles. Primary simply means the actual particle that came from space before interacting with the atmosphere while secondary particles are what hits the detectors as particles that have interacted with the particles in the atmosphere causing an extensive air shower. The proton that enters Earth’s atmosphere collides with molecules such as oxygen and nitrogen which produces the cascade. Particles that are produced include mesons such as pions which decay into gamma rays or muons depending on the pion’s charge. Other particles such as positron and electron pairs are produced in the cascade along with neutrinos due to meson decay. The mesons including pions and kaons decay in a matter of nanoseconds while their products such as the muon travel in a relatively straight path and penetrate the atmosphere with minimal interactions. A muon normally has a half-life of 2.2 microseconds but survives longer because it is moving at relativistic speeds. So on the ground scintillators, we are actually counting the muons that passed through along with the electrons, positrons, protons, and gamma ray photons.

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