How does the diameter of Polaris compare to the diameter of the sun?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around comparing the diameters of Polaris and the Sun using their luminosities and surface temperatures. The original poster presents a problem involving the application of a specific equation to derive the diameter ratio.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to use a formula involving luminosity and temperature to find the diameter ratio. They express uncertainty about the missing value of the Sun's surface temperature and its impact on solving the problem. Other participants provide calculations and seek confirmation of their results.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes attempts to calculate the diameter ratio, with one participant suggesting a result of 100 times. However, there is no explicit consensus on the correctness of this result, and the original poster's concerns about missing information remain unaddressed.

Contextual Notes

The original poster notes the absence of the Sun's surface temperature value, which is crucial for completing the calculations. This missing information is a point of contention in the discussion.

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Hey.. need some help in solving this problem:


Q) The luminosity of Polaris is 10,000 times the luminosity of the sun. The surface temperature of Polaris is about 5800 kelvins. Using k=33,640,000 find how the diameter of polaris compares with the diameter of the sun. ( Equation: D= (K)(sqrt of L ) / (T)^2

Dp/Ds = ( k(sqrt of Lp ) / (Tp)^2 ) / ( k(sqrt of Ls) / (Ts)^2 )
= ( sqrt of 10,000Ls ) / (5800)^2 / ( sqrt of Ls ) / (Ts)^2)

Now I'm stuck.. Not sure what this problem is leading to.. i don't know the value of Ts and hence am not going to get an answer.. Any help is much appreciated..
 
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[tex]d_{polaris}=\frac{k\sqrt{L}}{T^2}=\frac{33,640,000 \sqrt{10,000}}{5800 ^2}[/tex]
[tex]d_{sun}=\frac{k\sqrt{L}}{T^2}=\frac{33,640,000 \sqrt{1}}{T^2}[/tex]

[tex]ratio=\frac{d_{polaris}}{d_{sun}}[/tex]
 
The answer I'm getting is 100 ( i.e. the diameter of POlaris is 100 times that of the sun ) . Is that the correct answer?

thanks
 
Last edited:

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