as we all know combustion needs oxygen and in space there is no air and how does to sun burns??

Question

anyone who is an expet in astronomy pls contact me cause i am 13years and i have loads of questions to ask

Answer 1

The sun burns by nuclear fusion (like an H-bomb) by a process known as the proton-proton chain. Two protons in the sun's core slam into each other due to the extreme gravity pressing in from the weight of the sun. That fusion reaction releases a lot of energy. Those two protons slam into another pair of protons, making Helium-3, and those Helium-3 nuclei fuse with other Helium-3 nuclei to make the stable element Helium-4, composed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons, emitting a huge amount of gamma rays and neutrinos and other exotic high energy particles in the process. By this fusion reaction, the sun converts 6,100,000,000 tons of hydrogen into helium every second. The heat released is so immense that we can feel it from 93 million miles away. By the way, even though the sun is mostly hydrogen and helium, the sun does contain some oxygen and other heavier elements ("metals").

Answer 2

The bruning you're thinking of is like a log in a fire. That is a molecular reaction requiring the oxidatin of some material. The Sun shines and generates heat, but is not "burning" in the same way. It generates its energy through the process of fusion. It takes hydrogen atoms and fuses them into helium at the rate of approx 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second. The fusion reaction creates energy. One form of that energy is what we see as light and feel as heat when standing outside in the daytime. The stars are doing the same at night, but they're so far away we cannot feel their heat.
And, post all the questions you want. We'll answer more.
For some good reading, watching try to find the sources listed below

Answer 3

it particularly is via the fact the sunlight isn't on hearth. Burning (combustion) is a chemical reaction. The sunlight is a nuclear fusion reaction. gentle distinction. Edit: while something burns, like paper, the molecules of the paper get which contain the oxygen molecules interior the air, and bring a reaction which rearranges the atoms to form new molecules (like carbon dioxide), yet there continues to be an identical style of each atom. interior the sunlight, hydrogen atoms are smashed at the same time to form helium atoms, and an element of their mass is became into capability (in accordance to einstein's equation E=mc^2).

Answer 4

The sun doesn't technically 'burn' as in combustion. It is fueled by a nuclear reaction called fusion. you've probably some knowledge of how a nuclear reactor works (by splitting atoms apart to release energy), that procecss is called fission - the sun does the opposite, it puts smaller atoms together to make larger ones (i.e. two hydrogen atoms combine to make helium). This process releases orders of magnitude more energy than fission and is directly related to the famous equation E=MC2. E is energy, C is the speed of light, and M represents a very small amount of mass that is 'lost' when two atoms combine. Because the speed of light is so very large and because we square that quantity in this equation even a very very very small amount of mass delivers a HUGE amount of energy which is exactly what one observes during a fusion reaction.

If you have a good periodic table try to do the math... add the mass of two hydrogen atoms and compare it to the mass of one helium atom. You'll see they are slightly different. That little mass, taken hundreds of billions of times per second, is what provides the energy to light and heat our entire solar system.

cheers

Answer 5

First two guys are correct; it isn't a fire. Not everything that glitters is gold!

Also you might want to look up "plasma", because that's also what's going on in there. There is so much heat that the elements break down into a miasma of electrons, netrons and protons; plasma is neither a solid, liquid or gas itself. If you take the time to study it, it will be interesting for you! Have fun!

Answer 6

Two hydrogen atoms combine to create a helium atom. The burning of the sun is all of the energy produced by the combining of atoms.

Answer 7

The sun is not on fire. The heat that we see is known as nuclear fusion. Basically everything is compacted so greatly by gravity that it gives off radiation of all forms (light and heat).

Answer 8

i don't think the sun is burning. The sun is hot because of the large amount of energy released during nuclear fusion, not because of combustion.

Answer 9

The sun is a thermonuclear reaction of hydrogen and helium and doesn't require oxygen.

Answer 10

the sun's "fire" is actually Nuclear Fusion (not Fission), the converting of hydrogen into helium, thus no oxygen.