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Astronomy Exam 1 > Light > Flashcards

Flashcards in Light Deck (16)
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1
Q

what is a photon

A

individual particle of light

2
Q

what does the peak wavelength tell us about a star

A

the “color” or the source, the average energy of the source, and the temperature of the source (lamda max symbol)

3
Q

what is Wein’s Law state?

A

“the hotter the object becomes the shorter its peak wavelength becomes”

4
Q

“hotter objects are bluer, cooler and objects are redder”

A

Wein’s Law

5
Q

what is a spectrum

A

what we see when white light passes through a prism

6
Q

name the 6 types of light from longest to shortest wavelength

A

Radio, Infrared, Visible Light, Ultra Violet, X-ray, Gamma Rays

7
Q

what in nanometers is the visible light spectrum

A

350-750nm

8
Q

what is a wavelength

A

the distance from one peak to the next

9
Q

what is the frequency

A

the number of peaks passing by any point each second

10
Q

the longer the wavelength….

A

the lower the frequency

11
Q

continuous light spectrum

A

broad range of wavelengths without interruption

12
Q

emission light spectrum

A

consists of bright emission lines against a black background

13
Q

absorption line spectrum

A

dark absoprtion lines against a colorful background

14
Q

a cloud of gas would a emit a

A

emission line spectrum

15
Q

looking at a star through a cloud of gas would emit a

A

absorption line spectrum

16
Q

ionization

A

the process of stripping electrons from atoms