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what is the purpose of the sun's magnetic and gravitational field? and how does the sun know when to set and when to rise?

2006-12-08 23:19:26 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

2 answers

All matter in the Sun is in the form of gas and plasma because of its high temperatures. This makes it possible for the Sun to rotate faster at its equator (about 25 days) than it does at higher latitudes (about 35 days near its poles). The differential rotation of the Sun's latitudes causes its magnetic field lines to become twisted together over time, causing magnetic field loops to erupt from the Sun's surface and trigger the formation of the Sun's dramatic sunspots and solar prominences (see magnetic reconnection). This twisting action gives rise to the solar dynamo and an 11-year solar cycle of magnetic activity as the Sun's magnetic field reverses itself about every 11 years.

The influence of the Sun's rotating magnetic field on the plasma in the interplanetary medium creates the heliospheric current sheet, which separates regions with magnetic fields pointing in different directions. The plasma in the interplanetary medium is also responsible for the strength of the Sun's magnetic field at the orbit of the Earth. If space were a vacuum, then the Sun's 10-4 tesla magnetic dipole field would reduce with the cube of the distance to about 10-11 tesla. But satellite observations show that it is about 100 times greater at around 10-9 tesla. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory predicts that the motion of a conducting fluid (e.g., the interplanetary medium) in a magnetic field, induces electric currents which in turn generates magnetic fields, and in this respect it behaves like an MHD dynamo.

2006-12-09 01:11:21 · answer #1 · answered by DOOM 2 · 0 0

Surely you cant be serious...

Our entire universe exists and can be experienced by us do to electro-magnetism.

And technically the sun doesnt rise. The sun is semi-stationary in relation to the orbiting of the earth around it, it is the rotation of the earth on it's axis that creates the exposure/ or not , to sunlight.

2006-12-08 23:26:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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