Where Does the Sun's Energy Come From?: Geographic Layers of the Sun and Thermonuclear Fusion Reactions
The sun is one of the stars in the solar system and the center of the solar system. The sun is a star because it can produce its own light energy.
The sun's light compared to other stars feels brighter, of course, because it is the closest star. This is why during the day we cannot see stars other than the sun. Solar energy comes from nuclear reactions that occur in the sun, of course.
This reaction is called a fusion reaction, namely the merger of the core of hydrogen gas to form helium gas. This merging process will produce results in the form of energy consisting of heat energy, light energy, and very large wave energy.
This reaction occurs in the center or core of the sun which has a temperature of 7 million degrees Celsius. This temperature is necessary for the fusion reaction to occur. It is known, that the sun is a large ball consisting mostly of hydrogen gas, with a percentage of about 92%, helium 7.8%, and the remainder consisting of nitrogen, carbon and oxygen.
How Does the Sun Produce Energy?
Solar energy is generated in the sun's core where thermonuclear fusion reactions take place. This reaction will combine two hydrogen atom nuclei which will turn into helium.
Every second an estimated 600,000,000 tons of the sun's hydrogen is turned into helium. That much hydrogen would produce the energy equivalent of 100 billion hydrogen bombs every second.
According to Hans Bethe, solar energy is generated from the proton-proton cycle in fusion reactions. The cycle occurs in 3 steps, namely:
After the two steps above, proceed with one of the following two reactions:
The Geographic Layers of the Sun
The sun is the closest star to Earth at an average distance of 149,680,000 km (93,026,724 miles). The sun forms an incandescent ball with its main constituents being ionized hydrogen gas (74%) and helium (25%).
Other constituent compounds are composed of iron, nickel, silicon, sulfur, magnesium, carbon, neon, calcium, and chromium. The sun has a diameter of 1,391,980 km with a surface temperature of 5,500°C and a core temperature of 15 million °C.
Sunlight comes from a result of the fusion reaction of hydrogen into helium. The sun and the eight planets form a Solar System. The sun is categorized as a small G-type star.
The sun is believed to have formed 4.6 billion years ago. The sun's mass density is 1.41 compared to the mass of water. The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface is known as the solar constant equaling 1,370 watts per square meter at any time.
The sun as a center of the Solar System is a second generation star. Material from the sun was formed from an explosion of the first star as believed by scientists, that the universe was formed by a big bang explosion about 14,000 million years Then.
Sun Core
The core is the innermost area of the Sun which has a temperature of about 15 million degrees Celsius. Based on the ratio of diameters, this core is a quarter of the distance from a center to the surface and 1/64 of the total volume of the Sun.
Its density is about 150 g/cm3. Such high temperatures and pressures allow for the splitting of atoms into electrons, protons and neutrons.
Meanwhile, the heat energy in the core causes the electrons and protons to move very fast and collide with each other which causes nuclear fusion reactions. The core of the Sun is where a nuclear fusion reaction of helium into hydrogen takes place.
The energy generated from thermonuclear reactions in the core in the form of gamma rays and neutrinos gives a very large power which simultaneously produces all the heat and light energy received on Earth. This energy is carried out of the Sun by means of radiation.
Radiative Zone
The radiative zone is an area that envelops a core of the sun. Energy from the core in the form of radiation collects in this area before being transmitted to the outer parts of the Sun.
The density of this radiative zone is about 20 g/cm3 with a temperature from inside to outside between 7 million and 2 million degrees Celsius. The temperature and density of this radiative zone is still quite high, but it is not possible for a nuclear fusion reaction to occur.
Convective zone
The convective zone is a layer where the temperature starts to decrease. The temperature of this convective zone is around 2 million0C. Energy from the core of the Sun takes 170,000 years to reach a convective zone. When in the convective zone, the movement of atoms will occur by convection in an area of several hundred kilometers long which is composed of giant cells of continuously circulating gas.
Photosphere
The photosphere or surface of the Sun covers an area 500 kilometers thick with a temperature of about 5,500 degrees Celsius (10,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Most of the solar radiation released comes from a photosphere. Photospheric energy is observed as a ray of sunlight on Earth, 8 minutes after leaving the Sun.
Chromosphere
The chromosphere is a gas layer above the photoser which is about 16,000 km thick. Therefore, the chromosphere is also often called the layer of the sun's atmosphere. the temperature of the chromosphere is estimated to be around 4,000 oC. Getting to the top. the temperature of the chromosphere will be higher.
In the topmost layer, the temperature of the chromosphere is estimated at 10,000 0C. The color of the chromosphere is usually not visible because it is covered by the bright light produced by the photosphere. This chromosphere can only be seen during a total solar eclipse. It was at that time that the Chromosphere looked like a red bracelet or ring.
Corona
The corona is an outer layer of the Sun. This layer is white, but can only be seen during an eclipse because when the light is not as strong as the deeper parts of the Sun. When a total eclipse occurs, this corona is seen forming a white crown of light around the Sun.
This corona layer has a higher temperature than the inside of the Sun an average of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, but in some parts it can reach temperatures of 5 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Sunspots
Sunspots are tiny convex granules found in countless parts of the Sun's photosphere. These sunspots are created when the Sun's magnetic field lines penetrate a part of the photosphere.
The size of these sunspots can be larger than Earth. Sunspots have a dark area called the umbra, which is surrounded by a lighter area called the penumbra.
The color of these sunspots looks darker because the temperature is much lower than the photosphere. The temperature in the umbra is around 2,200 °C while in the penumbra it is around 3,500 °C.
Flame tongue (prominence)
The prominence is one of the characteristics of the Sun, which is a part of the Sun that resembles a flame very large, bright ones that stick out from the surface and often form loops round.
This prominence contains material with a mass of up to 100 billion kg. This prominence occurs because it is in the sun's photosphere and moves outwards into a solar corona. This plasma prominence moves along the magnetic field of the Sun.
The movement of the corona bursts occurs at a very high speed, which is between 20 thousand m/s to 3.2 million km/s. This movement also causes an increase in temperature to tens of millions of degrees in a short time.
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