PhysicsCode 9702
Standard candles
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- understand the meaning of luminosity: the overall power carried away as radiation from a star
- recall and use the inverse square law linking radiant flux intensity F to a source's luminosity L, given by F = L/(4πd²)
- understand that a body whose luminosity is known is termed a standard candle
- understand how standard candles are employed to work out how far away galaxies are