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Our Star - The Sun

The document discusses the Sun's energy source and structure. It explains that the Sun cannot be powered by chemical or gravitational energy alone, as those would only last 10,000 and 25 million years respectively. Instead, the Sun is powered by nuclear fusion in its core, which can last billions of years. The Sun has layers including the core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. Nuclear fusion occurs via the proton-proton chain, which fuses hydrogen into helium and releases energy. A rise in core temperature leads to greater fusion and expansion, cooling the core via a process like a thermostat.

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Jack Greenhouse
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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18 views

Our Star - The Sun

The document discusses the Sun's energy source and structure. It explains that the Sun cannot be powered by chemical or gravitational energy alone, as those would only last 10,000 and 25 million years respectively. Instead, the Sun is powered by nuclear fusion in its core, which can last billions of years. The Sun has layers including the core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. Nuclear fusion occurs via the proton-proton chain, which fuses hydrogen into helium and releases energy. A rise in core temperature leads to greater fusion and expansion, cooling the core via a process like a thermostat.

Uploaded by

Jack Greenhouse
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Our Star – The Sun

Why was the Sun’s energy


source a major mystery?
Is the Sun on FIRE?

If it is on fire, it must be burning a chemical fuel. How


long can this burning last given it has a finite mass
with a maximum chemical energy content?
Is the Sun on FIRE?

Chemical Energy Content


~ 10,000 years
Luminosity
Is it on FIRE? … NO! It would burn to an ash is 10,000 years!

Chemical Energy Content from Mass


~ 10,000 years
Luminosity
Is the CONTRACTING due to its own gravity?
Gravitational Potential Energy
~ 25 million years
Luminosity
Is it CONTRACTING? … NO!

Gravitational Potential Energy


~ It would only last 25 million yrs
Luminosity
Why does the Sun shine?
E = mc 2

- Einstein, 1905

It can be powered by NUCLEAR ENERGY!

Nuclear Potential Energy (core)


~ 10 billion years
Luminosity
The Sun has layers that get more dense as they
go in toward the center
What started the nuclear reaction?
GRAVITY
Things get hotter as they get compressed!!!
Weight of upper layers
compresses lower layers
Gravitational
equilibrium:

Energy provided
by fusion
maintains the
pressure
Gravitational
contraction:

Provided energy
that heated core
as Sun was
forming

Contraction
stopped when
fusion began
What is the Sun’s structure?
Radius:
6.9 x 108 m
(109 times Earth)

Mass:
2 x 1030 kg
(300,000 Earths)

Luminosity:
3.8 x 1026 watts
Solar wind:
A flow of
charged
particles from
the surface of
the Sun
Corona:
Outermost
layer of solar
atmosphere
~1 million K
Chromosphere:
Middle layer of
solar atmosphere
~ 104 - 105 K
Photosphere:
Visible surface of
Sun
~ 6,000 K
Convection Zone:
Energy transported
upward by rising
hot gas
Radiation Zone:
Energy transported
upward by photons
Core:
Energy generated
by nuclear fusion
~ 15 million K
Why can’t chemical burning be a
source of the Sun’s energy?
1. A burning object with the mass
of the Sun would not glow.
2. A burning objest with the mass
of the Sun would not give off
enough heat.
0% 0% 0%
3. A burning object with the mass
of the Sun would not last more
than 10,000 years.
10
0 of 5
Which of the following
statements is correct?
1. As gravity contracts an object it
gets hotter.
2. As a hot object expands it cools.
3. At some point an equilibrium is
reached. 0% 0% 0% 0%

4. All the above are correct.


10

0 of 5
Which is not a layer of the Sun?
1. Core
2. Radiation Zone
3. Convection Zone
4. Hadronic Zone
5. Photosphere
6. Chromosphere
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

7. Corona
0 of
5
:10
How does nuclear fusion occur in
the Sun?
Fission Fusion

Big nucleus splits into Small nuclei stick


smaller pieces together to make a
bigger one
(Nuclear power plants)
(Sun, stars)
High temperature
enables nuclear
fusion to happen in
the core
Sun releases energy by fusing four hydrogen nuclei into one
helium nucleus
Proton-proton chain is how hydrogen fuses into helium in Sun
IN
4 protons

OUT
4
He nucleus
2 gamma rays
2 positrons
2 neutrinos

Total mass is
0.7% lower
What would happen inside the Sun if a slight rise in
core temperature led to a rapid rise in fusion energy?
1. The core would expand
and heat up slightly.
2. The core would expand
and cool.
3. The Sun would blow up
like a hydrogen bomb.
0% 0% 0%

0 of 5
10
Solar Thermostat

Decline in core temperature Rise in core temperature


causes fusion rate to drop, so causes fusion rate to rise, so
core contracts and heats up core expands and cools down
How does the energy from fusion
get out of the Sun?
Energy gradually leaks out of radiation zone in form of randomly
bouncing photons
Convection (rising hot gas) takes energy to surface
Bright blobs on photosphere are where hot gas is reaching surface
How we know what is happening
inside the Sun?
We learn about inside of Sun by …

• Making mathematical models


• Observing solar vibrations
• Observing solar neutrinos
Patterns of
vibration on
surface tell us
about what Sun is
like inside
Data on solar
vibrations agree
very well with
mathematical
models of solar
interior
Neutrinos created
during fusion fly
directly through the
Sun

Observations of
these solar neutrinos
can tell us what’s
happening in core
Solar neutrino problem:

Early searches for solar


neutrinos failed to find
the predicted number
Solar neutrino problem:

Early searches for solar


neutrinos failed to find
the predicted number

More recent observations


find the right number of
neutrinos, but some have
changed form
How does the energy from fusion
get out of the Sun?
10
1. Randomly bouncing photons
carry it through the radiation
zone then rising of hot plasma
carries energy through the
convection zone to photosphere
2. Heat is transferred through the 0% 0%

0
direct conduction to the surface
of
5
What causes solar activity?
Solar activity is like “weather”

• Sunspots
• Solar Flares
• Solar Prominences

• All are related to magnetic fields


Sunspots

Are cooler
than other
parts of the
Sun’s
surface
(4000 K)

Are regions
with strong
magnetic
fields
Zeeman
Effect

We can
measure
magnetic
fields in
sunspots by
observing
the splitting
of spectral
lines
Charged particles spiral along magnetic field lines
Loops of bright gas often connect sunspot pairs
Magnetic activity
causes solar flares
that send bursts of
X-rays and
charged particles
into space
Magnetic activity
also causes solar
prominences that
erupt high above
the Sun’s surface
Corona appears
bright in X-ray
photos in places
where magnetic
fields trap hot gas
How does solar activity affect
humans?
Coronal mass
ejections send
bursts of energetic
charged particles
out through the
solar system
Charged particles streaming from Sun can disrupt electrical power
grids and can disable communications satellites
How does solar activity vary with
time?
Number of sunspots rises and falls in 11-year cycle
Sunspot cycle has something to do with winding and twisting of
Sun’s magnetic field
What causes solar activity?
1. Stretching and twisting of
magnetic field lines near
the Sun’s surface.
2. Nuclear fission near the
surface. 0% 0% 0%
3. Nuclear fusion near the
surface.

10
10
Solar activity does not affect
humans?
1. True
2. False

0% 0%

0 of 5

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