Astrophysics 101 (part 1)
Did you get a bit intimidated by the topic? After all it has physics right there in the word and most of you would not have started studying it. But don’t be. It might sound all business like but it’s actually very simple and oh so interesting. Don’t believe me? Alright, let’s prove you wrong.
What is Astrophysics?
Let’s break the word in two – Astro and Physics.
Astro is the study of outer space, celestial bodies – the entire universe. Physics is the study of matter (something that occupies space and has mass) and energy (the ability to do work).
Let’s combine the two meanings – the science that studies the matter and energy of the universe is called Astrophysics. See, we have already taken the first step. Wasn’t it simple? Let’s proceed.
What does a universe comprise of – Yes, we all know it’s made of stars, planets, black holes etc., but let’s not talk about the big stuff. Let’s start at the beginning – the building blocks of the universe – the elementary particles (something which cannot be dissembled or further broken down) – matter and energy.
The elementary particles can be further divided into two categories – Fermions and Bosons.
Fermion
They are matter particles. All matter is made up of fermions. The physicists (scientist who study physics) believe that fermions are made up of twelve fundamental particles, broadly divided into two categories – quark and leptons.
Quarks
They are very small pieces of matter that are governed by strong forces. Quarks are the building blocks of protons and neutrons (refer to the meaning box). There are six types of quarks and they have very interesting names – Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top, and Bottom. The different types of quarks are referred to as the different flavors of the matter.
Leptons
They are very small pieces of matter that are governed by very weak forces. There are six types of leptons and they have exotic names too – Electrons, Muon, Tau, Electron Neutrino, Muon Neutrino, Tau Neutrino.
Bosons
Bosons are force carrying particles – that means they carry tiny bundles of energy. There
are four types of bosons – Graviton, Weak Boson, Photons, and Gluons.
Photons
Light is made up of a type of boson called photon.
Gluons
The strong force that binds two quark particles together is gluon.
Graviton
A graviton is a hypothetical gravity carrying particle that has zero mass and zero charge. It is the building block of gravity. This is a controversial term as many scientists believe that gravitons do not exist.
Weak Boson
Weak forces which are not able to form any bonds. Leptons are usually governed by
weak forces.
Fun Facts about the Elementary Particles
- Neutrinos are produced as a byproduct of the nuclear fission reaction in the Sun. Neutrinos are massless and chargeless. If you would stand in the Sun thousands of neutrinos would penetrate your
body, but you will not be able to notice that. Also, it will not be harmful as these particles are inert (do not cause any reaction). - A bunch of Gluons bind together to form a glueball.
- A tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels faster than the speed of light.
Atom
Contrary to popular belief, an atom is not the smallest particle. An atom is the basic building block of an element e.g. oxygen, sodium, etc. Atoms are made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
Atoms interact with other atoms to form new elements.
Protons are positively charged particles; Electrons are negatively charged; and neutrons do not carry any charge.