#Space_interior part 2 ... Vinit Vartak ©
Why is freezing temperature necessary to see infrared light waves? What kind of new technology has been used in James Webb for this freezing temperature? Also, what mechanisms does James Webb have to keep these temperatures at bay for the next 10 years?.
Its energy is used to see an object through infrared light. Energy in the form of light photons is netted from one side to the other. Take any remote control in your home to understand infrared. When you want to do something like on TV The volume of low to high, a.c. Whether the temperature is low or high or your car is locked / unlocked then infrared rays fall on the object. It generates heat and the right action is taken. But the story of these infrared rays coming from space is a bit different. The energy generated when traveling on such a long distance and falling on the telescope and other instruments is very low. This energy is processed to create an image. Those images are then viewed by scientists on Earth. If a little bit of energy is generated differently, the overall image or visual part will be wrong. This is because electrical signals are generated on this energy and then images. That's why your telescope, mirrors or equipment must be freezing to capture these rays, which carry the least amount of energy. Without it, it would be impossible to capture such low-energy infrared rays.
The most important device on the James Webb telescope is the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). So if this pepper were to travel around the universe 13.5 billion years ago, the same temperature would have to be 6.4 K (minus 266.7 degrees Celsius). Notice that this temperature is close to what is called Absolute Zero. -273.15 deg C or 0 K. So at this temperature all the movement of atoms stops. If Miri wants to observe galaxies, new born stars, comets and everything else in the universe, it is very important to maintain this temperature. Otherwise all the hard work will be credited to the lost account. That's why the NASA team has made an amazing technological discovery in James Webb.
Even though James Webb was 1.5 million kilometers above the earth and would remain in the shadow of the earth, scientists were convinced that the temperature of James Webb would not drop as much as before the sun. To protect James Webb from the heat of the sun, they set up a screen called the Sun Shield. This sun shield is made up of five layers. When fully opened, it is as big as a tennis court. It has a silver coating on the surface with a hollow between the two layers. All the energy coming from the sun is reflected from its surface and the rest is blocked. Even so, the Sun Shield can bring temperatures down to about 35K or minus 238 degrees Celsius. That's why scientists need to come up with something else that will cool James Webb.As mentioned above, any compromise in temperature means that the whole effort is lost. Well, James Webb is not as close to the earth as Hubble, that it can be repaired or upgraded by sending mission. So whatever you want to do. Do it before launch the telescope and there is no second chance. Miri is such a sensitive device that some of the energy that would be generated from her devices while creating the image. That, too, was enough to make Miri fail. As the temperature rises, so does the movement of atoms, and this can lead to misinformation. This is called 'dark current'. If the temperature rises by one degree, the change in dark current is 10 times that. Such a big mistake will happen in the image. That's why temperature math was the next biggest challenge for NASA scientists.
NASA scientists have developed a cryogenic cooler to keep the temperature of pepper at 6.4 K (minus 266.7 degrees Celsius). Simply put, James Webb's fridge. This fridge controls the temperature of the pepper. It controls the temperature by freezing helium gas. It uses a technical system, such as noise cancellation, to prevent the noise of the compressor from impacting the device. In which the vibration generated by the compressor is completely destroyed. This fridge has been designed in such a way that it will provide uninterrupted service for more than 10 years without any hindrance. Each of these parts has been selected several times from different tests.
We have seen how James Webb will be freezing. But there was another problem with the engineering branch. How to prevent the effect of temperature on the James Webb's mirror through which these scattered infrared come together and enter the device? The primary mirror of James Webb is about 6.5 meters in diameter. It is made up of 18 hexagonal parts. If this mirror had been made of glass, it would not have been possible to match exactly 18 parts of it in such a cold temperature. Because wherever James Webb works, the temperature will drop to minus 240 degrees Celsius. At this temperature the glass will shrink so much that it will not be possible to adjust the integral mirror. It will not be possible to send a unified mirror from the earth through a rocket. That's why James Webb's mirror was made of beryllium metal. It is gold plated on the surface. Why beryllium? The thermal expansion of beryllium at cryogenic temperatures is very low. This metal takes a long time to cool or heat up. For both of these reasons, it was used to make James Webb's mirrors.That's why even though James Webb has reached his place today, it still takes time for the temperature of his mirrors to come down. Which researchers and scientists knew. Because once cooled, these mirrors will take a long time to warm up again. It's in James Webb's best interest.
Consider that James Webb's mirrors, his sun shield, his mirrors, and his refrigerator were all sent to L2 in a folded state. 18 pieces of James Webb were launched into space. His tennis court size sun shield blossomed like a flower. Work started on his fridge. All of this happened at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from the earth. The man who sat here on earth had controlled it. I have said these things a lot less. Nearly a thousand different systems have been put in place today by James Webb, and they are not finished yet. Over the coming months, more things will unfold, and then James Webb will be ready to explore the universe. From May, James Webb will unravel one by one the mysteries of the universe that scientists have been waiting for for over a decade.
What exactly will James Webb look forward to in the next episode? What do scientists expect from her? Some more insights into the universe ...
To be continued...
Photo Search Courtesy: - Google ( one photo Cryogenic cooler, other James web artistic drawing in space)
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