ASTR 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Radiography, Gamma Ray, Emission Spectrum
6 Sep 2016
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August comte, first sociologist quoted in 1835 we shall never have any means to study the chemical composition of the stars -- that will be forever beyond our grasp. "", but was proven wrong only a few decades later. To understand why comte was wrong, must note what newton missed. Just as some pianos have broken keys and unplayable notes, so too the spectrum of the sun reveals. This is how we know the composition of the sun and stars. Drawing done by fraunhofer in 1814 showing the distribution of light in the spectrum of the sun. Another drawing of another sun. in this case, dark lines very prominent. Newton missed them because he did not use a pure enough spectrum of sunlight. Red follows a certain path and is deflected to some extent. Blue follows a certain path and is dispersed.
