How does the sun burn without oxygen?
2007-06-29 03:14:22 · 4 answers · asked by Queen 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Great question! The sun does not actually "burn" in the usual way you think about burning.
"Normal" burning ("combustion") is a chemical reaction which involves atoms rapidly combining with oxygen. As part of that reaction, they give off tons of photons, which we experience as light and heat.
What the sun does is different. It's not a chemical reaction (where different atoms link or break apart by means of their electrons); instead it's nuclear fusion (where the particles in the atomic nucleus fuse together). Nuclear fusion does not require oxygen; it just requires a great deal of pressure to smash the nuclei into each other. Like combustion, nuclear fusion produces a whole lot of photons, which we perceive as light and heat.
2007-06-29 03:36:14 · answer #1 · answered by RickB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not exactly burn. The burn you're talking about is an oxidation process, you need oxygen for that.
The sun is creating energy from fussing Hydrogen into Helium. The massive gravity push the nuclei of Hydrogen so close that they fuse into Helium (by pairs) releasing a bit of energy. It's not fire as you know it but looks like it from the distance.
2007-06-29 10:26:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good thinking question.
Energy from the sun comes from the fusion of hydrogen. In the process an enormous amount of energy and radiation is released, including light and unseen wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. We feel the heat from the infrared waves, get sunburned by the uv waves, but there's lots more that flies out into outer space.
2007-06-29 10:22:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hydrogen in a fusion reaction, makes helium.
2007-06-29 10:21:46 · answer #4 · answered by scaponig 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋