ok... i know it can sound silly, but my 7 year old sister just asked me :
in the space there is no oxygen?.. right?, so why is the sun on fire?
can i light a match in space?... because fire need oxygen to turn on..?
and i didn't know what to say...
i just told her.. let me think.. LOL......
2007-12-21 15:46:29 · 10 answers · asked by cariana 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Hey, here's your chance to blow your sister out of the water : )
At the very center of the sun is an immense hydrogen bomb that continuously explodes. It's been doing that for about 4 1/2-billion years, and will go on doing the same thing for about another 4 1/2-billion years. Oxygen isn't needed for a hydrogen bomb.
The fancy word for what's happening with that hydrogen bomb is called 'nuclear fusion.'
2007-12-21 15:53:28 · answer #1 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The sun makes energy by a different way.
It has a plenty of hydrogen. It converts it into helium constantly....
By this conversion, a large amount of energy is formed with particles which are all escaped by the surface of the sun.
The most satisfying answer is at very high level.
You can get on wikipedia.
See, if she knows, oxygen helps burning but hydrogen itself burns.
Sun is a ball of hydrogen.. It itself burns.
In case of a candle or a matchstick, the chemicals or cotton burns and oxygen is a necessary for them to burn for them while in case of hydrogen, it is not.
You can light a match in space. but it goes away suddenly because chemicals are the substances which require oxygen to help burning but hydrogen itself burns
thank you if you liked my answer and good luck
2007-12-22 07:45:41 · answer #2 · answered by Vipul C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the sun is not on fire. since i dont know your age ill try to explain this as simple as possible.
everything is made of elements, which are composed of atoms. the simplest atom is hydrogen. it has 1 proton and an electron orbiting around it. the sun is one giant cloud of hydrogen. gravity started to collapse the cloud and friction and pressure caused it to heat up. eventually it hot hot enough and under enough pressure that the hydrogen ions (atoms without electrons, it got so hot the electrons flew away from the proton) smash together and combine. they combine in a series of collisions to form a helium ion, 2 protons and 2 neutrons (no electrons because its so hot). the helium ion that was made has about 4% less mass that the hydrogen ions that made it. that 4% is given off as energy in the form of photons (light and heat).
this is called thermonuclear fusion, its a nuclear reaction instead of a chemical reaction, which is what fire is. it requires no oxygen. if the sun was on fire it would have burned out bilions of years ago. fire doesnt last nearly as long as fusion.
2007-12-22 00:22:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is true that in space there is no oxygen. The sun burns its fuel that is hydrogen by means of a process called atomic fusion, by which liberates energy in the form of heat and
2007-12-22 03:07:40 · answer #4 · answered by Asker 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Sun actually is not on fire.
What is fire by the way? Fire is a form of energy and as this energy is in the visible specturm freq. so we can see it.
The sun also produces energy but by the fission and fusion of hydrogen (fuel). The frequencies of energy emitted in the visible specturm is visible to us and the infrared or ultravoilet rays of energy is not visible to us.
2007-12-22 00:35:22 · answer #5 · answered by Abdul Haseeb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The process of nuclear fusion, which powers th sun, is not reliant of oxygen to produce a very high temperature.
2007-12-21 23:52:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Its not actually on fire.
The sun gives energy by nuclear fusion.
This basically means particles in the atom fuse.
This gives of lots of energy, some in the form of light.
This is why the sun is bright.
2007-12-21 23:50:39 · answer #7 · answered by shakeyourbotty 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
a match won't burn in outerspace,
aren't childrens questions delightful and amazing, though?
i think i remember wondering that when i was a small child, but i don't think i asked the question, i figured anyone trying to get me to believe in people and creatures that were impossible to believe in wouldn't have any true or correct answers, anyway.
2007-12-22 00:12:12 · answer #8 · answered by captsnuf 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the sun is being fueled by it's own gases inside of it, hydrogen (which is being turned into helium as the hydrogen is being used up).
2007-12-21 23:49:18 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Other responders are correct.
And no, the match won't burn in space.
2007-12-21 23:54:37 · answer #10 · answered by don_sv_az 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋