Starts and the universe
6.2.1 The Sun as a Star
Gravity and nuclear fusion reactions drive the formation and development of stars. Stars with
different masses grow and change throughout the different stages of their lives.
The Sun
The Solar System was formed around 4.6 billion years ago from a large cloud of
dust and gas, called a nebula. This collapsed under its own gravity,
transferring gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy in its particles. As the
nebula collapsed it became denser, and rotated more rapidly. Collisions between
particles caused kinetic energy to be transferred as internal energy and thermal
energy.
The core of the nebula began to form a hot, dense protostar.
When the Sun’s core became hot enough and dense enough, nuclear
fusion reactions began, giving out energy and radiation.
A star like the Sun is at equilibrium - gravity tends to pull it inwards, and radiation
pressure from the nuclear reactions tends to expand it outwards. In other words,
the gravitational collapse is balanced by the expansion due to fusion energy.
The Sun is currently a main sequence star and will remain so for another 4-5
billion years. It will then expand and cool to become a red giant, after which it will
shrink and heat up again to become a white dwarf. The white dwarf star will run
out of nuclear fuel and slowly cool down over many billions of years.
The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System
o The Sun is a star which makes up over 99% of the mass of the
solar system
o The fact that most of the mass of the Solar System is
concentrated in the Sun is the reason the smaller planets orbit
the Sun
The gravitational pull of the Sun on the planets keeps them
in orbit
The Sun is a medium sized star consisting of
mainly hydrogen and helium
It radiates most of its energy in
the infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic
spectrum
Stars come in a wide range of sizes and colours, from yellow stars to red
dwarfs, from blue giants to red supergiants
o These can be classified according to their colour
Warm objects emit infrared and extremely hot objects emit visible light
as well
o Therefore, the colour they emit depends on how hot they are
A star's colour is related to its surface temperature
o A red star is the coolest (at around 3000 K)
o A blue star is the hottest (at around 30 000 K)
The colour of a star correlates to its temperature
Nuclear Fusion in Stars
In the centre of a stable star, hydrogen atoms undergo nuclear
fusion to form helium
The equation for the reaction is shown here:
Deuterium and Tritium are both isotopes of hydrogen. They can be
formed through other fusion reactions in the star
A huge amount of energy is released in the reaction
This provides a pressure that prevents the star from collapsing under
its gravity
The fusion of deuterium and tritium to form helium with the release
of energy
The life cycle of stars
All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as a nebula,
becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main sequence star. Following this, stars
develop in different ways depending on their size.
Stars that are far greater in mass than the Sun follow the right hand path: red super giant
star → supernova → neutron star, or a black hole (depending on size). Stars that are about
the same mass as the Sun follow the left hand path: red giant star → white dwarf star →
black dwarf star.
Nebula
A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula. Nebulae
are mostly composed of hydrogen.
Gravity begins to pull the dust and gas together.
Protostar
As the mass falls together it gets hot. A star is formed when it is hot enough for the
hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to make helium. The fusion process releases energy,
which keeps the core of the star hot.
Main sequence star
During this stable phase in the life of a star, the force of gravity holding the star together is
balanced by higher pressure due to the high temperatures. The Sun is at this stable phase in
its life.
Red giant star
When all the hydrogen has been used up in the fusion process, larger nuclei begin to form and
the star may expand to become a red giant.
White dwarf
When all the nuclear reactions are over, a small star like the Sun may begin to contract under the
pull of gravity. In this instance, the star becomes a white dwarf which fades and changes colour
as it cools.
Supernova
A larger star with more mass will go on making nuclear reactions, getting hotter and expanding
until it explodes as a supernova.
An exploding supernova throws hot gas into space.
Neutron star or black hole
Depending on the mass at the start of its life, a supernova will leave behind either a neutron star
or a black hole.
One light year = 9.5 × 1012 km = 9.5 × 1015 m
Life Cycle of Stars
1. Nebula
All stars form from a giant interstellar cloud of hydrogen
gas and dust called a nebula
2. Protostar
The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer
together until it forms a hot ball of gas, known as a protostar
As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar
will increase
o This will result in more frequent collisions between the
particles which causes the temperature to increase
3. Main Sequence Star
Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions
occur within its core
o The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
o Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which
keeps the core hot
Once a protostar is formed, its life cycle will depend on its mass
The different life cycles are shown below:
Flow diagram showing the life cycle of a star which is the same size
as the Sun (solar mass) and the lifecycle of a star which is much
bigger than the Sun
Once a star is born it is known as a main-sequence star
During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to
be stable
o The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward
pressure force from the fusion reactions
4. Red Giant or Red Super Giant
After several billion years the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in
the star will begin to run out
Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die
down
This causes the core to shrink and heat up
o The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity will
become greater than the outward force due to the pressure of
the expanding gases as the fusion dies down
A new series of reactions will then occur around the core, for
example, helium nuclei will undergo fusion to form beryllium
These reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand
A star the same size as the Sun or smaller will become a red giant
A star much larger than the Sun will become a red super giant
o It is red because the outer surface starts to cool
5. For Red Giant Stars
Planetary Nebula
Once this second stage of fusion reactions have finished, the star will
become unstable and eject the outer layer of dust and gas
o The layer of dust and gas which is ejected is called a planetary
nebula
White Dwarf
The core which is left behind will collapse completely, due to the pull
of gravity, and the star will become a white dwarf
The white dwarf will be cooling down and as a result, the amount
of energy it emits will decrease
Black Dwarf
Once the star has lost a significant amount of energy it becomes
a black dwarf
It will continue to cool until it eventually disappears from sight
For Red Super Giants
Supernova
Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the
core of the star will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion
o This is called a supernova
At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star.
The outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during the
supernova explosion, forming a planetary nebula
o The nebula from a supernova may form new
stars with orbiting planets
Neutron Star (or Black Hole)
In the case of the biggest stars, the neutron star that forms at the
centre will continue to collapse under the force of gravity until it
forms a black hole
o A black hole is an extremely dense point in space that not
even light can escape from
