Final answer:
The statement regarding Halley's Comet cannot be deemed true or false without context. Astronomy concepts show that comets reach high speeds near the sun, are celestial objects, and can propel solar sails via the solar wind. Halley made significant contributions to our understanding of comets and the motion of stars.
Step-by-step explanation:
Astronomy Concepts Related to Comets and the Sun
The statement regarding Sue and Anne's disagreement about the flare of Halley's Comet cannot be evaluated as true or false without additional context. Answering true or false statements relating to physics involves understanding concepts such as:
- Comets accelerate as they approach the sun due to the sun's gravity, causing them to reach their greatest speeds during this phase.
- Relativistic effects generally do not make a comet's tail appear longer from Earth; this visibility factor is more due to the comet's composition and interaction with the solar wind.
- To determine if comets are atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects, observational experiments can be set up, examining the comet's presence in various locations on Earth and establishing parallax to show its distance from Earth.
- It is indeed true that solar sailcraft can be propelled by the solar wind, which consists of particles emanating from the sun.
- Wave-particle duality is a principle of quantum mechanics that is true for microscopic particles, not for objects at a macroscopic scale.
- Waves can superimpose even if their frequencies are different, leading to various interference patterns.
Historically, Edmond Halley made significant contributions to our understanding of comets and stellar motion, debunking the then-prevailing notion of fixed stars. Moreover, the hypothesis that the sun burns coal can be refuted by considering the amount of coal needed, the lifespan of the sun, the heat of the sun's core, and the elements found within the sun which match those resulting from nuclear fusion rather than coal combustion.