A majority of it's substance is hydrogen. Hydrogen is one of the most reactive elements....
2007-08-31 14:24:58 · 4 answers · asked by lilys.petal 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
the sun doesnt burn hydrogen, it fuses it into helium. if the sun burned hydrogen by conventional means, in other words using oxygen, then it would burn out one billion times as fast, and give less than one trillionth of the heat.
the sun uses fusion, making hydrogen (1 proton 0 neutrons 1 electron) int helium (2 protons 2 neutrons 2 electrons). since 1 helium atom weighs less than 4 hydrogen atoms, this means that matter is being converted into energy, which is where the tremendous energy output comes from.
also, just because it would burn out that fast wouldn't make it unstable. it would just make it...well...burn out faster. unstable would mean that it's on the verge of collapse. no siree, the sun's going strong fro another 5 billion years =)
2007-08-31 14:35:13 · answer #1 · answered by Fundamenta- list Militant Atheist 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It has managed to sustain life on this planet for billions of years. I wouldn't consider that very unstable.
It will eventually burn out, but in a few billion years perhaps. No. Not unstable.
Health care, the earth, Lindsay Lohan....unstable.
Nad
2007-08-31 14:37:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
as long as the mass stays ahead of the use of hydogen then its just fine...
its akin to making a tree house using the tree you are building in for materials to build the tree house with.. sooner or later the tree is gonna fall
same with the sun...
but i wouldnt worry in your life time or serveral of your offsprings offsrings offsprings lifetimes
2007-08-31 14:36:24 · answer #3 · answered by pokerfaces55 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, if you want to put a match to the sun, it just might blow up. Any volunteers?
2007-08-31 14:42:47 · answer #4 · answered by cattbarf 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋