If nuclear fusion in the sun's core suddenly stopped today, would the sky be dark tomorrow? Why?

Answer 1

It would take several million years to stop shining, and you probably wouldn't even notice for the first few hundred thousand years.

Back before nuclear fusion was understood, it was thought that stars got their energy from the energy of gravitational contraction. This would allow them to shine for only a few million years, and this presented a problem because it was known from geology that the Earth was a few billion years old (we're talking a hundred years ago here). If nuclear fusion stopped, gravitational energy would keep things going for a few million years. This is called the "Kelvin-Helmholtz timescale" in stellar interiors theory.

Answer 2

Spazzy and JRCG are properly suited. Photons take an somewhat long term to get to the outdoors, because of the fact they save getting deflected on the way. besides the undeniable fact that, the fusion technique and consequent potential launch is what keeps the solar from collapsing under it fairly is very own weight. without that fusion, it may be as though the solar all quickly ran out of gas, and reached the top of its life cycle. of direction, this might't take place in actuality, because of the fact the fusion is a effect of the guidelines of physics. it is different from there's a large fusion reactor interior the solar, which could ruin down.

Answer 3

Not only does it take along time for the photons created in the core to escape, but the sun would continue to shine through the heat released from gravitational contraction. It would be feeble by comparison, but it would provide illumination.

HTH

Charles

Answer 4

Light travels at 186,000 miles a second and the average distance between the su and the earth is 93,000,000 mile the if the sun stopped shining at midnight it would take 8,3 minutes for the sky to go dark. We'd see stars we've never seen before before the lack of heat took us all away.

Answer 5

No, it takes hundreds of thousand years for energy to go from the center of the sun to its surface. It takes million years fot a photon to go from the solar nucleus to the surface.

Answer 6

There would be so much energy stored in remaining sun it would take millenia to darken but it would begin to darken unnoticeable after a few minutes.

Answer 7

No,
light from the core of the sun takes thousands of years to escape.

Damn you Jano!!! ;-)

Answer 8

no because i have an emergency generator