Where does the sun get it's energy from?

Question

From what I've read we know that the sun gives us energy but for the sun to give us continious energy it has to be given energy as well. Some scientist even say they donot know the answer to this question, is it true? If there is some source greater than you and I out there than what is it? I believe no-one has even been where the sun is.

Answer 1

Nuclear fusion powers the Sun.

The sun converts four million tons of matter into energy every second. The sun is so vast that its size will not decrease significantly, even doing that for billions of years.

The actual mechanisms are quite complicated, but the shorthand is this: four hydrogen atoms are converted into a single helium atom. This is 4*1.007 = 4.028 atomic mass units converting to 4.002 atomic mass units. The lost mass is converted into energy.

There are a details of nuclear physics that are not completely understood, but the mechanism that powers the sun is not in doubt.

Answer 2

NUCLEAR FUSION

The middle of the Sun is a very hot gas. It is ionized: all of the electrons have been ripped away from the nuclei because it is so hot. The nuclei available are mostly 1H, quite a lot of 4He, and a few 2H and 3He. (There are a few other types, but they are not so important for us.)
What is happening in the middle of the Sun is analogous to burning methane:


C H4 + 2 O2 --> C O2 + 2 H2 O
In this reaction, the final molecules have less internal energy than the starting molecules. Since energy is conserved, the extra energy is released as energy of motion of the molecules. That is the gas gets hotter. The amount of energy involved is 5.5 eV each time the reaction above happens.
As we have seen, much more energy than that must be involved in the reactions inside the Sun and other stars. The evidence is strong that the overall reaction is "burning" hydrogen to make helium:


4 1H + 2 e --> 4He + 2 neutrinos + 6 photons
The high energy photons produced by the nuclear process don't get far. They are absorbed and heat the gas. The helium remains in the middle of the Sun. The neutrinos easily zip out of the Sun. (Neutrinos easily zip through most anything, reacting with matter only rarely.)

In this reaction, the final particles have less internal energy than the starting particles. Since energy is conserved, the extra energy is released as energy of motion of the nuclei and electrons in the solar gas, the production of lots of low energy photons and, finally, the energy of the neutrinos, which just zip right out of the Sun. That is the gas gets hotter and has lots of photons (and neutrinos). The amount of energy involved is 26 MeV = 26 x 106 eV each time the reaction above happens.

Answer 3

Oh this makes me think....

Look this is how it goes...

A hydrogen atom and a hydrogen atom sometimes give elctrons to each other. Sometimes they don't. (lolz). So...When the atoms that have only one proton or two electrons and a proton (because hydrogen atoms don't hvae nuetrons), they don't hvae any job to do....they can do nothing except....release enrgy. So the sun doen't get it from anywhere but the atoms in the sun itself...

Answer 4

Fusion