2007-05-14 15:02:50 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Nuclear fusion.
2007-05-14 15:09:11 · answer #1 · answered by Matt V 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would just like to add that before the discovery of nuclear fusion, it was thought that the Sun was heated by kinetic energy. Asteroids, you see, kept crashing into the Sun and heating it up.
I have seen an almanac from the 1830's that even calculated the mass that had to fall into the Sun each day in order to keep it burning. I wonder where they thought all that extra mass came from.
2007-05-14 15:32:14 · answer #2 · answered by TychaBrahe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The massive size of the sun creates extreme gravitational pull on it's own hydrogen gas make-up. The pressure (and pressure excites molecules which produces heat) and heat are so great it actually causes atoms to be rended apart. The same reaction as in a hydrogen Bomb. As you can imagine, this activitiy going on non-stop can create quite the firey ball.
2007-05-14 15:17:10 · answer #3 · answered by ROD'R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms.
2007-05-14 16:32:50 · answer #4 · answered by inesmon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when we die we will ask god 4 u
2007-05-14 15:05:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋