Scientists: what fuels the sun?

Question

What keeps the sun going and how does it survive without oxygen??

Answer 1

The sun works by thermonuclear fusion. Since this is not a combustion process, oxygen is not needed. Hydrogen is fused into helium, which has a slightly lower mass, and the lost mass appears as heat energy. A hydrogen bomb works similarly.

Answer 2

What Fuels The Sun

Answer 3

The sun is not "burning" in a literal sense. There is no chemical reaction between oxygen and some other chemical substance, so an oxygen is not requisite for. About the nuclear fusion, see the link --->

Answer 4

Hydrogen fusion in the core of the sun is similar to chemical combustion, but at the atomic level instead of the molecular. Chemical binding energy is released when wood burns, for instance, because plants store energy in the form of molecular binding energy. They release oxygen into the air because it's a byproduct, and combining it again produces energy, aka fire. Applying heat and oxygen breaks the molocules back down to a lower energy state, producing fire. In the sun, hydrogen is at a higher energy state than helium (which is four hydrogen atoms combined), but requires heat and pressure to combine them. Once combined, they release atomic binding energy because it requries less energy to hold a helium atom together than a hydrogen one. Therefore helium is a more stable form, which also means it requires additional energy turn helium into hydrogen again instead of releases it.

Answer 5

Fusion of hydrogen to helium, and helium and hydrogen to heavier elements. Look up "fusion."

Answer 6

FUSION