please help with this astronomy question...im not quite sure where to start:s
When a massive star is at the end of its life, the inner core that is perhaps 2 solar masses shrinks in radius from a size of around 0.01 solar radii to a radius of just 20 km.
a) Calculate that the gravitational potential energy of the core EPOTENTIAL = -0.6GM2 R before and after the collapse.
b) The total energy of the star is conserved during this collapse: ETOTAL = EOTHER + EPOTENTIAL. This implies that the difference is liberated as other forms of energy. Calculate the amount of energy liberated.
c) How important is it to know the original radius of the core before collapse?
d) The liberated energy goes into heat, expanding the outer layers of the star at very high speed, neutrinos and light. Assume that just 0.1 percent of this energy emerges as light over a period of 100 days. Determine the luminosity of the star over this period.
e) Convert this luminosity to solar luminosities. For comparison the entire Milky Way galaxy has a
luminosity of around 2 × 1010 Solar Luminosities.
When a massive star is at the end of its life, the inner core that is perhaps 2 solar masses shrinks in radius from a size of around 0.01 solar radii to a radius of just 20 km.
a) Calculate that the gravitational potential energy of the core EPOTENTIAL = -0.6GM2 R before and after the collapse.
b) The total energy of the star is conserved during this collapse: ETOTAL = EOTHER + EPOTENTIAL. This implies that the difference is liberated as other forms of energy. Calculate the amount of energy liberated.
c) How important is it to know the original radius of the core before collapse?
d) The liberated energy goes into heat, expanding the outer layers of the star at very high speed, neutrinos and light. Assume that just 0.1 percent of this energy emerges as light over a period of 100 days. Determine the luminosity of the star over this period.
e) Convert this luminosity to solar luminosities. For comparison the entire Milky Way galaxy has a
luminosity of around 2 × 1010 Solar Luminosities.