Where does all the Oxygen come from for the Sun to burn?What gas is actually burning?

Answer 1

The sun is not burning, chemically. The heat is due to nuclear fusion. The sun is mostly hydrogen and most of the rest is helium. There are relatively trace amounts of oxygen, but not enough to make any noticeable contribution to the heat being produced.

Answer 2

And the rest of the question (from over a 100 years ago) is: "And where does all the smoke go?"

4 hydrogen atomic nuclei (each one a proton) are combined to form 1 helium atomic nucleus (2 protons + 2 neutrons).

It just so happens that 1 helium nucleus weighs a tiny bit less than 4 hydrogen nuclei. The difference in mass is transformed into energy (E = mc^2 and all that).

There is so much hydrogen turned into helium at the core of the Sun that the 'tiny' loss of mass amount to 4 million tonnes per second! That's a lot of E = mc^2.

The heat generated by that mass turning into energy finally makes it to the Sun's surface where it heats it up to 6000 C (almost 11,000 F). At that temperature, the surface glows and it is the light from that glow that we get (not the light from the fusion which takes place at the centre of the Sun).

The same principle that causes the wires inside a toaster to flow red (2800 F) or the filament in a lightbulb to glow yellow (5000 F).

Answer 3

There's not a lot of oxygen in the sun. There IS a huge amount of hydrogen gas and that's what the sun 'burns.' Actually the 'burning' is called nuclear fusion, the same process that happens in hydrogen bombs. The sun's core is a continuously exploding hydrogen bomb that's been going on for about 4.5-billion years, and will continue for at least another 4-billion years.

Answer 4

There is no oxygen, except a lot that has formed from thesun's other nuclear reactions. The gas that is actually burning is hydrogen. What happens is that at those high temperatures and pressures, hydrogen collapses to form helium, the same reaction that is responsible for the hydrogen bomb. So the sun is a huge hydrogen bomb, burning for a very long time.

Answer 5

The sun doesn't burn. Hydrogen atoms are combining through nuclear fusion to create Helium atoms, while releasing large amounts of energy, creating heat and light.

Answer 6

hey wait sun is not burning it is because of fusion between hydrogen and helium. well i had heard that there is no hydrogen but it is plasma. what happens is sun converts hydrogen to helium and acording to einsteins E=mc2 it becomes energy which we can see

Answer 7

It runs on hydrogen and nuclear fusion and no oxygen what so ever.

Answer 8

The fire of the sun is not a chemical fire, but many many nuclear explosions.

Answer 9

Didn't you learn the answer to that question in basic science classes.