If Flame needs oxygen, then how & why does the sun burn forever apparently?

Answer 1

burns helium/hydrogen in an on going nuclear reaction

Answer 2

Because it has no flames.
The sun is not actually burning.

At the core of the sun, the pressure and temperature are such that protons (atoms of Hydrogen) are being rammed together hard enough to form Helium atoms.

4 protons (four hydrogen nuclei) become 2 protons and 2 neutrons (He nucleus), 2 positrons (anti-electrons) and 2 neutrinos, and a bunch of energy.

1 nucleus of Helium has a tiny bit less mass than 4 nuclei of hydrogen, the difference goes out as energy (E = mc^2). Four million tonnes per second. (Which is the first hint that it will not go on forever, but only for a few more billions of years... only).

The heat generated at the centre finally makes it to the Sun's surface. The surface is kept at almost 6000 K (almost 11,000 F) from all this heat swelling from the centre and that is why the surface glows.

The same way that a filament inside a lightbulb emits light when it is heated by the electricity. There is no oxygen inside a light bulb... and that is a good thing, otherwise the filament would really burn (in a fraction of a second) and turn to rusty dust. No more wire = no more light.

Answer 3

There are more ways to create flame other than using oxygen, and the sun don't use stuff+oxygen recipe anyway.
Sun fuse hydrogen together to make deuterium, tritium, and finally helium. The energy come from the fact that the mass of helium is less than the mass of 4 hydrogen. The loss mass is turned to energy by the E=MC2.

Answer 4

This is a good question, and several previous answers are
good answers. (However, a few are nonsense!) But the
fact is that the sun does not burn in the sense we think of
burning; that is, it is not a chemical oxidation reaction.
Actually, it is nuclear fusion, where in the sun's core, many
trillions of hydrogen nuclei are fusing together to form
helium nuclei, and this reaction is going continuously.
It won't last forever; eventually the hydrogen will be all
used up. There are other fusion reactions that can and
do occur, but as in the case of all stars, eventually the
fuel will all be used up. However, don't worry; it won't
happen for several billion years yet.

Answer 5

I paid a visit to Jodrell Bank which is a planetarium. Apparently, the sun which is a star will not burn forever. It IS very slowly burning out. The information was that the sun is about half way through it's natural life so it should live for millions of years yet.

Answer 6

The sun contains no oxygen, but is composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. The amount of hydrogen is going down and the amount of helium is rising as the hydrogen is fused to become helium, releasing energy. It won't "burn" forever, though, but will eventually "die" when all the hydrogen "fuel" is used up.

Answer 7

A flame, like on a candle, is a chemical reaction. Oxygen, the fuel (the wick in the case of a candle) and heat are all needed for the reaction to take place.
The 'flames' of the sun are nuclear reactions.
The suns gravity causes particles to smash together under extreme pressure which in turn produces light which you see and percieve as a flame.
The Hydrogen the sun started off with is all forced together to form helium, and it keeps doubling the size of the partcles until iron is created. When the sun is creating iron it starts to die because there isnt enough gravity to create anything heavier.
Heavier elements like uranium can only be created in a supernova. Thats why they are relatively rare.

Answer 8

The sun is not your usual flame. It is actually a massive hydrogen to helium fusion furnace that needs no oxygen because the combustion is actually Hot fusion where atoms are being crushed together until they fuse and release immense amounts of energy, Imagine a giant hydrogen bomb.,.... that's our sun.

Answer 9

you are correct that flame needs oxygen but like all other stars releases energy by fusing two hydrogen atoms converting them to helium that gives out large amount of energy . this process is called nuclear fusion

Answer 10

The sun is not burning. There are no flames on the sun.. Its energy is produced by atomic fusion, not combustion.

Answer 11

I won`t repeat the on going nuclear reaction thing, I didn`t know it was so. I was going to say something about solar wind but I guess its more of a by product of a burning sun than a cause ..........