standard candles
What standard candles means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of standard candles
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Reference: AQA
Type 1a supernovae have a standardised peak luminosity, so comparing observed peak brightness with known absolute magnitude allows distance estimation for cosmology.
Type 1a supernovae have a nearly standard peak luminosity because they explode at a similar trigger mass, the Chandrasekhar limit, so they act as standard candles.
Topics that use standard candles
- Supernovae, neutron stars and black holes (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Accretion
- Active galactic nuclei
- Black hole
- Chandrasekhar limit
- dark energy
- Light curve
- Long-duration GRB
- Luminosity
Using standard candles in the exam
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