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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Electromagnetic spectrum
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arrangement of light waves (ex. ultraviolet, visible, infrared, x-rays) according to wavelengths and frequencies
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Photon
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light in a stream of particles (like bullets fired from a machine gun) that give off radiation
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Spectroscopy
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study of properties of light that depend on wavelength. (think of light going through a prism that produces a rainbow of colors)
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Continuous spectrum
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when light is produced by solid, liquid or gas under high pressure. (example: light bulb)
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Absorption spectrum
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when light is produced by visible light passing through cool gas under low pressure
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Emission spectrum
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light produced by hot gas under low pressure. (think light produced by most stars)
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Doppler effect
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perceived change in wavelength of sound and light waves that are moving toward or away. (example: an ambulance siren seems higher pitched when approaching and lower when moving away). used to determine if body in space is moving toward or away from Earth.
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Refracting telescope
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telescope built by Galileo that used a lens to bend light. could magnify up to 30 times.
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Chromatic aberration
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when red, blue and purple objects appear to be out of focus and have halos when seen through a refracting telecope
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Reflecting telescope
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telescope built by Newton that used a mirror to reflect light. no chromatic abberration (colors out of focus) with this kind.
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Radio telescope
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focuses the incoming radio waves on an antenna, which absorbs and transmits the waves to an amplifier (like a radio antenna)
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Photosphere
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bottom layer in solar atmosphere. radiates most of the light we see. think of as the visible "surface" of the sun
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Chromosphere
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second layer in solar atmosphere. thin layer of hot gases that appears as a thin, red rim around the sun.
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Corona
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outermost layer of the solar atmosphere. produces the sun's glow. extends a million kilometers from the sun.
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Solar wind
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stream of protons and electrons that boil from the corona. wind at speeds of 800 kilometers per second.
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Sunspot
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dark spots on the surface of the photosphere of the sun
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Prominence
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huge cloudlike structures made of gases that look like giant arches.
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Solar flare
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brief explosion that lasts for about an hour and looks like a bright flash above a sunspot
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Aurora
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effect of solar flare. when the Earth's atmosphere at the poles glows for several nights. also called northern and southern lights.
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Nuclear fusion
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the way that the sun produces energy. (this reaction converts 4 hydrogen nuclei nto the nucleus of a helium atom)
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