Given the technology today, would people have a chance of surviving if the sun went out?

Question

First ignore that all other life on earth would die and we wouldn't have any food in the long run. Would some people at least be able to produce enough heat to last for a while? And what about after that?

Answer 1

Earth would still have its geothermal energy, so one idea would be to burrow down to it to keep warm. Nuclear power would keep the lights on.

But, come to think of it, geothermal energy could provide some electric power, too. Food would be grown in underground greenhouses, with artificial light replacing the sun, as in the movie "Silent Running."

But it would only be possible to save a few people, and, knowing that, everybody would want to be in the burrow. Anybody who thought that he would be excluded from the burrow would try to make interfere with its construction. So building the burrow would have to be done in secret, and it would be best if the selection of its inhabitants were scientifically done, to preserve the best of humanity, rather than attempt to include every sort of motley specimen merely for "diversity."

Answer 2

No chance.

If given a decade or two of forewarning, then we might have a shot at letting a few people survive. You'd have to have domed colonies and a fuel source (almost certainly nuclear). In effect, it would be like constructing a moon base here on earth. The actual construction would be much easier than building a moon base, since we could build it here on earth. However, designing it for the long run - with no possibility of resupply from a fully populated planet - would be no simple task.

Any living quarters would have to be specially designed for the purpose of surviving without our sun. If the sun went out tomorrow, the last humans would probably be dead within a day or two at the most.

Answer 3

If the sun went out we would not last very long.
There is enough of the required material to last for a certain length of time but it would be a losing battle and depending on the number of people involved,maybe a year or two.
Tough call though.

Answer 4

Letus pray.It won't occur without enough long reasonable warning.

1.We may be creating a "replacement Sun "by igniting Jupitor.
2.We may fetch Hydrogen from Cosmos and burn it in our kitchens to cook or creat food.
3. We may drag the earth to a suitable Star , may be Alpha Centuri or Sirius, and put it in the new orbit..

4. Negotiate with our Sun,
If you don't fire .. We will Hire New Star !!

Answer 5

I think people with large amounts of food and electrical power might stand a chance but as the sun dies out they might have a problem with the food unless we could dig close enough to the earths core to stay warm and if people could sustain electrical lighting to grow plans and animals i think it might be passable.

Answer 6

If it should happen suddenly, then No one would survive. If it happened with several years warning, then domed cities could be built and heat sources provided. It would also mean a change in food supplies, and man would probably have to adapt and possibly mutate to adjust to the new environment.

Answer 7

...Ignore the fact that all life would cease to exist...???
I suppose a few pockets could live underground in abandoned mines for a few weeks. Nuclear power plants would be too exposed. And the radiation would be killer.
IF you could set up a geothermal power plant to provide lighting for hydroponics, you might stretch a few people's existence to a few years. But ANY additional disaster would be the end.

Answer 8

With no sun the temperature would begin to drop toward Absolute Zero - no-one would last for long wherever they were on or under the Earth.

Answer 9

You would have no chance and you would know it went out in about 8 minutes because of the distance from earth and the speed of light.

Answer 10

well b4 the sun "goes out" it will get so big that it will eat up mercury venus earth and probably mars too... so no because we will be bar b qued way b4 that. Unless we can use our space travel expertise and just live between stars. But that will only last so long.