H/W assignment #11
Due at 12 noon on Dec 10 through sakai

(1) One of the great successes of 20th century science is that we
    understand how the chemical elements came to be.  We know that the
    synthesis of all the different elements requires a number of
    different processes occurring in a number of different
    astrophysical sites.  For example, we have the Big Bang where the
    temperatures in the Universe were high enough for nuclear
    reactions to take place.  Big Bang nucleosynthesis (as the process
    is called) produced only the light elements H, He, Li and related
    isotopes such as deuterium (a form of hydrogen with 1 proton and 1
    neutron).  Describe how this process took place and contrast it
    with the process of nucleosynthesis in stars.

(2) In their essay "The Cosmic Symphony" Wayne Hu and Martin White
    draw an analogy between oscillations that occur in a musical
    instrument like an organ pipe and the oscillations that occur in
    the early Universe.  Explain why this analogy works and describe
    the evidence that cosmologists use to measure the oscillations in
    the early Universe.