Could an ice block much larger than the sun extinguish the sun if it was dropped into it?

Question

Explain.

Answer 1

No. The sun has a thermonuclear reaction at its core, it will keep burning long after the ice has all melted.

Answer 2

This is an interesting question, because it assumes an impossibility in the first place, which is that there could be a "ice block much larger than the sun" in the first place. A block of ice that large would normally become a star itself! Nuclear fusion occurs whenever atoms lighter than iron are crushed together with sufficient pressure and temperature, and gravity alone is enough to do that given enough mass. That is the reason why Jupiter is frequently called a "near star", because it almost has the mass required to form one. Okay, but for the stake of the question, though, we'll assume that the "block of ice" isn't quite consolidated yet to form a star, but nonetheless more massive than the sun. Think of a real loose supercomet colliding with the sun. What wiil happen? Well, you're right, the stupendous explosion from the impact would probably "extinguish" the sun by succesfully scattering all matter, both the sun's and the supercomet's, into a cloud of relatively rarified density, thereby destroying the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. But it would only be temprorary, as eventually, this cloud would re-coalesce and form a new sun, this time even more massive and powerful than the original sun.

This is something that would be really fun to do to simulate on a supercomputer, which already has been used for other problems like this in astrophysicists. Maybe someone already has done this?

Addendum: CHESSLARUS has forgotten to include the internal heat energy of the sun, which is SUBSTANTIALLY (and I mean way far out more) more than the "energy output of the sun" for any short period of time. Roughly speaking, if I have a frozen mass equal to the sun, at 0 degrees, and added it to the sun, which is at 10,000,000 degrees, the resulting mass will have a temperature of 5,000,000 degrees. This might be enough to termporarily halt nuclear fusion, but I doubt it. That's something I'll have to look up, because there are so many possible fusion reactions, each one of them having different conditions for them to occur.

As for tychobrahe's claim that "ya can't blow out a nuclear explosion with a nuclear bomb", as a matter of fact, using explosives to blow out massive oil well fires is a routinely used tactic. The principle here is to DISPERSE the matter in the sun so that at least the PRESSURE drops drastically. If the pressure is too low, even very high temperatures like 10,000,000 will not be sufficient to sustain a fusion reaction. Unless the sun was a black hole, it would not be able to "absorb" the kinetic energy of a fast incoming supercomet without explosive dispersal.

Anyway, I'm giving this question a star, because it was so fun to think this one through.

Answer 3

Temperature of Sun on its surface is arpund 6,000°C, but in the core it could get 13,000,000°C. So we can take 10,000,000°C as an average temperature. This heat is feed by nuclear reactions of primarily hydrogen into helium and the carbon and so on.

Mass of Sun is 1.98 ×10^30 kg

The energy released by the sun is

W = 383 x 10^34 watts (Joules per second)

We need to know what would be the amount of ice water needed to extinguish the Sun. It could mean to get at least a temperature of 0°C.

We apply the definition of specific heat:

C= specific heat of ice water = 2.114 J/g°C = 2114 J/Kg°C

Q = mCT (we assume that all energy released by Sun (W) is transformed into heat (Q))

383 x 10^34 J = m (2114 J/Kg°C)(10000000°C)

m = 383 x 10^34 J / (2114 x 10^10 J Kg°C) = 1.8117 x 10^26 kg

So, we compare the mass of water ice against the Sun mass (1.98 x 10^30 kg).

Yes, an ice block of 1/10000 the mass of Sun could extinguish it to get 0°C. It does not need to be larger than Sun, just 10,000 less massive than Sun.

The former calculations were done in the same mood of your question. So we have to suppose that an invisible and very powerful hand drops the block instantly onto the Sun.

If any out there wants me to correct them, they are welcomed.

ADDENDUM: Thanks to scythian1950 to add the note of the internal energy issue. I agree with him regarding this question as interesting to think about it (nevertheless the impossibility that this event ever occurs). I will give also an star to the question.
I just did the calculations as a "curious" exercise.

Good luck!

Answer 4

No, an ice block would vaporize instantly. And don't believe that guy who said that a "nuke" would extinguish the Sun. The Sun is powered by nuclear fusion, the same process that occurs in a hydrogen bomb. A "nuke" would not extinguish the Sun. It would be like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a match.

Answer 5

no longer even close. The solar is a million,3 hundred,000 circumstances the quantity of the Earth. If we took each and all the water of the Earth and tossed it in the direction of the solar: a million- The water might evaporate in the previous it even have been given on the brink of the solar 2- Assuming the Water did no longer evaporate, it would nevertheless do no harm to the solar. it would be like attempting to extinguish a wooded area fire with one droplet of water. The solar isn't a ball of fire interior the 1st place. it rather is made up of plasma, its a large ball of gasoline, making potential via nuclear fusion, changing hydrogen into helium. If we out water on it, it would merely take the Hydrogen from it and use it as gasoline.

Answer 6

No, it would not extinguish the sun at all...in fact, it would add to its mass and probably cause it to shine even brighter. The sun is not "on fire"...it is undergoing fusion. The only thing required for that fusion is large amount of mass. Your hypothetical ice block is simply another large mass that would be fuel for the sun's fusion reaction.

Of course, this would be an extremely violent event...doubtful that life on Earth would survive.

Answer 7

NO, becuase the sun's heat is going to hit the Ice Cube before the cube even gets to the sun, In other words the Cube would melt very quickly it already gets hot here on earth and we're millions of miles away.

Answer 8

the suns heat is at Super Nova or about 100000 Kelvin. To move a giant ice mass torward it, the ice would actually be in liquid state before even touching the surface.

Answer 9

An ice block that big would have so much gravity, it would collapse in on itself, and would become a star!

Answer 10

no the presure from that much hydrogen would probably self ignight and become a star also.