2006-07-02 13:14:29 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
thermonuclear reaction is taking place
2006-07-02 13:19:08 · answer #1 · answered by biggun4570 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sun is not on fire. Fire is a chemical process. The sun is a thermo-nuclear process - that is; it is like thousands of hydrogen bombs going off all together, but constantly. If it was just a chemical process, like a fire burning, it would have burned away billions of years ago.
Einstein showed the the power of the atom with e=mc^2. Because c is so big (speed of light), c squared is a ginormous figure expressed in metres per second squared, so that basically, even a kilogram of matter converted to energy produces a prodigious amount of energy.
Scale that up to the size of the sun, and it explains why even though the sun is a mass of constantly exploding H bombs, it will last for a few billion years more before exhausting all its nuclear fuel.
The sun at just over 100 times the diameter of the Earth, is 1.3 million times the volume of Earth. Overall, its material is lighter than the rocky/metallic Earth, but even so, it is one third million times the mass of the Earth. That is a lot of Kilos of nuclear material.
In fact, in converting its mass to energy, the sun loses 4 million tons of of mass every SECOND. When you consider that it will last billions of years, it gives you some idea of its size.
2006-07-02 20:58:32 · answer #2 · answered by nick s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sun is so hot because the pressure is so great that four protons fuse together to forn one alpha particle, which is released at the surface as heat and light. Also, many highly combustible gases like hydrogen and helium are present, with heat, thus making huge firey explosions.
2006-07-02 20:20:33 · answer #3 · answered by Matt C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nobody knows. There are THEORIES that can NOT be tested directly, so we'll never really know if it's fusion going on in the core.
P.S. It's not fusion going on in the core. Read up on the "electric universe" theory and how the Sun is electrified.
2006-07-02 20:24:31 · answer #4 · answered by Tony, ya feel me? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
is is very hot because of gases or something in the sun.
2006-07-02 20:17:53 · answer #5 · answered by Slickwilly 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PV=nRT.
If the pressure is large (as it is in the cener of the sun) compared to the density (n/V), the temperature is large.
2006-07-02 20:42:17 · answer #6 · answered by mathematician 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first it is collection of very hot gases and second thermonuclear reaction such as fusion is continuously taking place
2006-07-02 20:34:16 · answer #7 · answered by ghulamalimurtaza 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because it's a massive nuclear explosion going on, whose own massive gravity keeps in contained and constant.
2006-07-02 23:34:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
because there is nulear fussion causing high amounts of energy or heat
2006-07-02 20:20:58 · answer #9 · answered by mr.christie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fire-burn-hot
2006-07-02 20:26:14 · answer #10 · answered by kyeann 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋