What is the cosmic microwave background, and why is it significant?
What will be an ideal response?
It is a 2.7 K universal blackbody background radiation, the same in all directions. It is the redshifted remnant of the intense radiation emitted in the Big Bang, now shifted all the way into the microwave region of the spectrum.
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A Type Ia supernova is believed to occur when
a. the core of a massive star collapses. b. hydrogen detonation occurs. c. a white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit. d. the cores of massive stars collapse. e. neutrinos in a massive star become degenerate and form a shock wave that explodes the star.
The thermal pressure within a gas depends on
A) density only. B) temperature only. C) density and temperature. D) composition. E) gravity.
A substance that heats up relatively slowly has a
A) high specific heat capacity. B) low specific heat capacity. C) either of these D) neither of these
The Yerkes refracting telescope has a 1-m diameter objective lens of focal length 20 m and an eyepiece of focal length 2.0 cm. What is the magnification of the planet Mars as seen through this telescope?
a. 800 c. 400 b. 1000 d. 200