It is this collapse that ultimately birthed the big ball of light in the middle of our Solar System, as it triggered a process where atoms began fusing together due to the excess of pressure and heat. Specifically, in core of stars that are about the size of the Sun, energy is produced when hydrogen atoms H convert and become helium He. During this fusion process, some of the matter of the fusing nuclei is not conserved, and it is converted to photons.
Just how much energy does our Sun produce? Well, in a single second, the sun fuses about million metric tons of hydrogen in its core.
This means that, in just one second, the Sun produces enough energy to power New York City for about years. Larger stars have more heat and pressure; as a result, they are able to fuse heavier elements together.
Since we are fusing heavier elements, there is more matter that is not conserved and, ergo, there is more heat and pressure. The sun's surface temperature is about 10, degrees Fahrenheit 5, degrees Celsius , and it's 27 million degrees Fahrenheit Deep in the sun's core, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium, which generates energy.
Particles of light called photons carry this energy through a spherical shell called the radiative zone to the top layer of the solar interior, the convection zone. There, hot plasmas rise and fall like the ooze in a lava lamp, which transfers energy to the sun's surface, called the photosphere.
It can take , years for a photon to complete its journey out of the sun, but once it exits, it zips through space at more than , miles a second.
Solar photons reach Earth about eight minutes after they're freed from the sun's interior, crossing an average of 93 million miles to get here—a distance defined as one astronomical unit AU. Out beyond the sun's photosphere lies the atmosphere, which consists of the chromosphere and the solar corona. The chromosphere looks like a reddish glow fringing the sun, while the corona's huge white tendrils extend millions of miles long.
The chromosphere and corona also emit visible light, but on Earth's surface, they can be seen only during a total solar eclipse, when the moon passes between Earth and the sun. The corona runs far hotter than the photosphere, hitting temperatures of more than a million degrees Fahrenheit.
How the corona gets so hot remains a scientific mystery, which is partly why NASA launched its Parker Solar Probe , the fastest spacecraft ever built, and the first ever sent into the corona.
In addition to light, the sun radiates heat and a steady stream of charged particles known as the solar wind. The wind blows about miles kilometers a second throughout the solar system , extending the sun's magnetic field out more than 10 billion miles. Beyond that distance, the solar wind gives way to the colder, dense material that drifts in between stars , forming a boundary called the heliopause.
So far, just two spacecraft—Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 —have crossed this cosmic threshold, which defines the start of interstellar space.
Every so often, a patch of particles will burst from the sun in a solar flare, which can disrupt satellite communications and knock out power on Earth. Flares usually stem from the activity of sunspots, cool regions of the photosphere that form and dissipate as the sun's internal magnetic field shifts. Solar flares and sunspots obey a regular cycle, rising and falling in number every 11 years as the poles of the sun's magnetic field flip back and forth. Sometimes, the sun will also launch huge bubbles of magnetized particles from its corona, in events called coronal mass ejections CMEs.
However, as technological advancements are made and demand rises, the costs are dropping. Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, currently produce most of our electric and engine power. They also produce almost all of our pollution. Plus, they are non-renewable, meaning there is a limited supply. The sun, on the other hand, offers free and clean energy in abundance. In fact, it gives much more energy than we can ever possibly use. The only questions are how and when we will take full advantage of it.
African Energy 16, square kilometers 9, square miles of solar power plants in North Africa could generate enough electricity for all of Europe. Electrified Nation Ranked third in the world in population, the United States uses more electricity than any other country, even the entire European Union of 27 nations. Solar Power In 15 minutes, the sun radiates as much energy as people use in all forms in an entire year. The Earth is the only place in the known universe that supports life.
Also known as petroleum or crude oil. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher.
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You cannot download interactives. In its common usage, the word heat refers to both thermal energy and its transfer from a warmer object to a cooler object.
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that studies heat transfer between systems. This field has observed the laws of thermodynamics which define how heat, within a system, flows and does work. In any system, when two objects with different temperatures are brought into contact with one another, they will eventually establish thermodynamic equilibrium.
As heat moves from one object to the other, physical changes will take place: the balloon filled with gas will grow or shrink, the roadway will expand or contract, the electrical resistance in the circuit will increase or decrease, and these changes are predictable and can be measured. Engineers and scientists take these laws into account when they design projects and experiments. Use these resources to learn more about thermodynamics.
Individuals, communities, and countries depend on a variety of different resources to help them thrive: electricity, timber, oil, water, and food to name a few.
Because these basic resources are such a large part of our daily lives, it is important that we manage them responsibly to ensure future generations have what they need.
Human civilization heavily impacts the environment and the rich natural resources we depend on. All communities face the challenge of managing resources responsibly, not only for themselves, but for the sake of the world around them. The Parts of the Sun " ". Figure 1. Basic overview of the parts of the sun.
The flare, sunspots and the prominence are all clipped from actual SOHO images. Photo courtesy SOHO consortium. Core -- The center of the sun, comprising 25 percent of its radius. Radiative zone --The section immediately surrounding the core, comprising 45 percent of its radius. Convective zone -- The outermost ring of the sun, comprising the 30 percent of its radius. Photosphere -- The innermost part of the sun's atmosphere and the only part we can see.
Chromosphere -- The area between the photosphere and the corona; hotter than the photosphere. Corona -- The extremely hot outermost layer, extending outward several million miles from the chromosphere. The Sun's Interior: Core " ". A powerful solar flare erupted from Sunspot on Oct. The flare sent X-rays traveling at the speed of light toward Earth, causing a radio storm in the ionosphere.
Two protons combine to form a deuterium atom hydrogen atom with one neutron and one proton , a positron similar to electron, but with a positive charge and a neutrino.
A proton and a deuterium atom combine to form a helium-3 atom two protons with one neutron and a gamma ray. Two helium-3 atoms combine to form a helium-4 atom two protons and two neutrons and two protons.
A helium-3 atom and a helium-4 atom combine to form a beryllium-7 four protons and three neutrons and a gamma ray. A beryllium-7 atom captures an electron to become lithium-7 atom three protons and four neutrons and a neutrino.
The lithium-7 combines with a proton to form two helium-4 atoms. The Sun's Interior: Radiative and Convective Zones After covering the core, it's time to extend outward in the sun's structure. Sun Facts. Average distance from Earth : 93 million miles million kilometers Radius : , miles , kilometers Mass : 1.
Read More. The Sun's Atmosphere We've finally made our way to the surface. After many weeks of a blank sun with no sunspots, a small new sunspot emerged on Sept.
Uneven rotation of the sun distorts and twists magnetic field lines in the interior. The twisted field lines break through the surface forming sunspot pairs. Eventually, the field lines break apart and sunspot activity decreases. The cycle starts again. Huge tubes of gas circle the sun's interior at high latitudes and begin to move toward the equator. When they roll against each other, they form spots. When they reach the equator, they break up and sunspots decline. The Fate of the Sun " ".
When our sun becomes a red giant, its radius will be about times what it is now. Planetary nebulae are the remains of sunlike stars that have reached the end of their red giant stage. Sun FAQ How old is the sun? How hot is the sun? The sun is 5, degrees Kelvin on its surface and What year will the sun die?
The sun has enough hydrogen fuel to "burn" for about 10 billion years, which means it has a little over 5 billion years left. What is a simple definition of the sun?
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