Why does the sun shine. Sun observation
1. The light of the Sun reaches the surface of the Earth in just 8 minutes. During this time, he overcomes a distance of 150 million kilometers. The sun is responsible for the weather, for cataclysms, for life on the planet.
2. The temperature of the Sun is not the same in different parts of it. It ranges from 6 thousand to 15 million degrees C. The lowest temperature is on the surface, and the highest is in the core. This is explained by the fact that almost all the energy of the luminary is generated in the center and only then transferred to the upper layers. 3. If a drop of matter from the core of the Sun fell to the surface of the Earth, then not a single living creature would survive at a distance of 150 km from the fall. 4. An interesting period of history was the time from 1640 to 1700. In these years, there were no spots on the sun, that is, the heavenly body reduced its activity. This period of history has been called the Maunder minimum. Also, the disappearance of spots influenced the emergence of the Little Ice Age, due to which rivers that had never frozen before froze, and the overall air temperature dropped. At the moment, the sun is at its peak. 5. There is much more water on the Sun than on Earth. Existing in the form of water molecules, water molecules are concentrated mainly in "sunspots" and in a narrow layer under the surface of the star.
6. In honor of the total solar eclipse of 1999, which was best observed on the territory of Romania, the authorities of this country issued a plastic banknote of 2000 Romanian lei. The banknote had a transparent window through which one could look at the Sun during an eclipse. 7. The sun also emits electrons and protons, known as the solar wind, at a speed of 450 kilometers per second. 8. The distance between the earth and the sun is ideal. The temperature on the planet fluctuates from approximately -50° to +50° The earth is as far from the sun as it is necessary for this "eternal fire" to properly heat us, no more, no less! If the Earth were a little further from the Sun, we would freeze, a little closer, we would burn out. Any slight change in distance in one direction or another - and life on Earth would be impossible. And the rotation of the Earth around its axis every day makes it possible for the entire surface of the planet to heat up and cool down enough. 9. Earth receives 94 billion megawatts of energy from the Sun. This is 40,000 times the annual requirement of the United States. 10. Sunset on the Red Planet, Mars, is blue.
11. The sun rotates around its axis, and the layers of stellar matter at the equator rotate almost a third faster than the layers in the polar regions. 12. In the sky, we see the sun as an orange or yellow circle, but this is just a play of light, in fact the sun is white. Our sun is not the hottest, but not the coldest, more than 15% of the other luminaries known to us are brighter than our sun. 13. The sun is a ball consisting of gas, which is held together by its own force of attraction. And flickering is the process of nuclear fusion that occurs inside the Star. 14. Solar eclipses also have a certain periodicity. In general, once every 200-300 years, an eclipse can be observed at any specific point on the globe, but if we talk about an annual eclipse, then it happens 1-2 times, but always at different points on the Earth. 15. The sun is the cause of the northern lights. Astronomers call it the "solar wind". From Earth, you can see a beautiful twinkle all over the sky. When this happens, the Sun ejects a large number of charged particles along with heat. Thanks to the magnetic field of our planet, some of them are reflected, but some pass through it, they interact with the gases that make up our atmosphere. As a result of such “cooperation”, a glow appears. This is how the aurora borealis comes about.
16. Here is what Professor David Block notes: “If the distance from the earth to the sun was reduced by 5%, then the earth would turn into a solid steak (of people and animals). And if the distance from the earth to the sun increased by only 1%, then the earth would become icy. 17. The US flag, mounted on the moon, "faded" due to solar radiation - now it consists of white and blue colors. 18. It was not until 1992 that the Vatican publicly acknowledged that the Earth does indeed revolve around the Sun. 19. Sooner or later, our planet will die and all because of the sun. For the past 5 billion years, the sun has been giving our planet the necessary heat and burning 700 billion tons of hydrogen every second. At the same time, the mass of the sun is so great that it will "burn" for about 5 billion years. After that, the sun will end its life as a small white celestial body, but before that, the sun will increase in size and push all the planets away from itself, thereby destroying their atmosphere and evaporating all the water. 20. The diameter of our sun is 109 times the diameter of the Earth, while it is 1,392,000 km. The sun also rotates, but around the center of our galaxy, and makes a full revolution in just 225-250 million years.
21. The Sun has existed for more than 4.5 billion years. Every second it produces a huge flow of energy. Scientists have calculated that this is about 390 billion trillion kilowatts. 22. Light coming from the sun travels 150 million kilometers in just 8 minutes, while the nearest star Proxima Centauri is 4 such distances. 23. The estimated age of the Sun is 4.6 billion years. The sun will live another 4-5 billion years. 24. The sunniest cities are: Nice, Monte Carlo, Morocco, Ussuriysk, Brisbane and Nice. In these cities, there are 300 out of 365 sunny days. 25. The luminosity of the Sun (ie the amount of energy released per second) is approximately equal to 3.86 * 1020 Megawatts. It is produced by thermochemical reactions that convert hydrogen into helium. The earth receives only 94 billion megawatts of solar energy. However, if this energy is fully used, then it will be enough for all of humanity for many thousands of years.
26. Solar radiation is deadly due to its accompanying radiation, but the Earth's atmosphere blocks it. 27. The sun gives different amounts of its light to all cities, so the inhabitants of the city of Kirun, which is located beyond the Arctic Circle, see the sun 24 hours a day, although in winter the sun is not visible at all. Malta boasts only 10 hours of daylight hours, and Stockholm already 18, in Samarkand the sun rises at 15 hours. Day clock (24 hours) was borrowed from the Egyptians. According to their beliefs, the god Ra (the god of the sun) moves on his chariot across the sky for 12 hours, checking his possessions. 28. The weight of the Sun is more than 99.5% of the mass of the entire solar system, it exceeds the weight of our planet by 330,000 times. 29. Occurs annually from two solar eclipses. It is almost impossible to see them in the same place. The eclipse can only be seen from a narrow band of the moon's shadow. At a certain point on the globe, it can be observed once every 200 or even 300 years. 30. The sun revolves around the center of the Milky Way just as the Earth revolves around the sun. The period of rotation of the Sun around the center of our galaxy is approximately 240 million years.
31. The brightness of the Sun is equivalent to the brightness of 4 trillion trillion light bulbs with a power of 100 watts. 32. Solar gravity exceeds the earth's by 28 times. On Earth, a person's weight is 70 kilograms, on the Sun it increases, and will already be in the region of 2 thousand (1960) kilograms. 33. Both "great luminaries" the Sun and the Moon have the same angular dimensions. They are the largest celestial objects (in terms of their visibility from Earth). The sun is at a distance from the earth, which is 400 times the distance from the earth to the moon. It is also amazing that the solar ball is 400 times larger than the moon. But visually, the Sun and Moon are the same size and occupy the same space in the sky. 34. If the Sun were the size of a soccer ball, Jupiter would be the size of a golf ball, and the Earth would be the size of a pea. 35. The solar wind propagates from the Sun at a speed of about 450 kilometers per second.
36. Almost 700 billion tons of hydrogen are burned every second on the Sun. Despite such great losses, the Zvezda will still have enough energy for many years to come. About as much as it already exists. 37. In about a billion and a hundred million years, the brightness of the Sun will increase by ten percent, which will entail the end of all life on Earth. 38. From the Sun to the most distant planet, light and heat reach only 5.5 hours. 39. The magnetic field of the Sun is only twice as strong as the magnetic field of the Earth. 40. Lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
41. The Sun, like any star, has its own atmosphere. Its upper boundary goes far beyond the orbit of Pluto. 42. It is difficult for us to imagine how great is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. It is incredible - 150 million kilometers. If we draw an analogy with a highway, then when a car moves at a speed of 105 km / h, this distance can be covered in 163 years. Consequently, we could not have traveled such a distance by car in our entire lives. 43. A total solar eclipse cannot last longer than 7 minutes and 40 seconds. 44. It is believed that the Greek philosopher Aristarchus was the first to come to the idea that the Earth revolves around the sun. 45. Unlike the Earth, the Sun is absolutely gaseous, there is no solid surface on the Sun. It consists predominantly of helium and hydrogen, and does not have a solid surface.
46. The sun is very far from the Earth, but the Earth is much closer to the Sun than the other planets. 47. After 8 billion years, the Sun will increase in size from today's 200 times. As a result, the planet Mercury will be swallowed up. As a result, the layers of the Star will begin to break up into small particles, and it will become a "white dwarf" in the existing solar system. If any elements for life are preserved after its destruction, they will become the beginning for the birth of new planets, stars and new life in the galaxy. 48. When the Sun turns into a red giant, it will swallow Mercury and possibly Venus, Earth and Mars. 49. Energy in the solar interior is generated by nuclear fusion. 50. The mass of the Sun is approximately 99.86 percent of the mass of the entire solar system.
The fourth state of matter.
Part six. Why does the sun shine
Why does the sun shine? The same exact answer is known today to this question. The sun shines because in its depths, as a result of a thermonuclear reaction of the transformation of 4 protons (nuclei of hydrogen atoms) into one helium nucleus, free energy remains (because the mass of the helium nucleus is less than the mass of four protons), which is emitted in the form of photons. Photons in the visible range - this is the sunlight that we see.
And now let's reason and imagine the path that scientists have traveled. And at the same time, let's think about what will happen when hydrogen is completely burned out on the Sun? Will it definitely go out? We advise you to read the article to the end - a very interesting assumption is made there.
Let's assume that the Sun burns the most calorific of all types of fuel - the purest carbon, which burns whole, without any ash. Let's do a simple calculation. It is known how much heat this “bonfire” sends to the Earth. The sun is a ball, so it radiates heat evenly in all directions. Knowing the size of the Earth and the Sun, it is easy to calculate that in order to maintain the flow of heat from the Sun, about 12 billion tons of coal must burn in it every second! The figure is huge on the earth's scale, but for the Sun, which is more than three hundred thousand times heavier than the Earth, this amount of coal is small. And yet all that coal in the sun would have to burn out in just six thousand years. But the data of many sciences - geology, biology, etc. - irrefutably testify that the bright Sun has been heating and illuminating our planet for at least several billion years.
The notion that the Sun burns with coal had to be rejected. But perhaps there are chemical reactions in which even more heat is released than when coal is burned? Let's assume they exist. But even these reactions could extend the life of the Sun by a thousand, two thousand years, even twice, but no more.
But if the Sun is not able to provide itself with fuel for any long time, then, perhaps, outer space does this from the outside? It has been suggested that meteorites are continuously falling on the Sun. We have already said that when meteorites approach the Earth, due to braking in the Earth's atmosphere, they often burn out completely, heating the air on their way. Why not assume that there is no atmosphere around the Sun, that the deceleration of meteorites occurs directly in the solar matter, and it heats up to a high temperature?
Let's go back to the calculations. How many meteorites must fall on the Sun to keep it burning for a long time? The calculation gives an absolutely incredible figure: even if the weight of all the meteorites that fell on the Sun is equal to the weight of the Sun itself, it would still shine for only about a million years.
But, perhaps, once such a huge number of meteorites nevertheless fell on the Sun, heated it to a huge temperature, and now the Sun is slowly cooling down? Nothing like this! There is a lot of evidence that the Sun shone and warmed a billion, and a million, and a thousand years ago, as it does today. So, the second assumption also fails.
The amazing constancy of solar activity also buried the third, most tempting assumption about the cause of the "burning" of the Sun. It came down to the following. According to the law of universal gravitation, all bodies approach each other. The Earth is attracted by the Sun and moves around it. The stone is attracted by the Earth and falls on it if it is released from the hands.
Let's imagine that the Sun is a huge vessel with gas. The molecules of this gas, subject to the action of mutual attraction, despite the collisions that throw them away from each other, should gradually attract each other and approach each other. The sun as a whole would then shrink, the pressure of the gas in it would increase, and this would lead to an increase in temperature and the release of heat.
If we consider that in 100 years the diameter of the Sun is reduced by only a few kilometers, then this phenomenon could fully explain the radiation of the Sun. However, such a slow contraction cannot be detected with the help of astronomical instruments.
But there is a “device” that works for a much longer time. This instrument is the Earth itself. During its existence, the Sun would have to shrink tenfold: from sizes many times larger than the length of the entire solar system to modern ones. Such compression would certainly affect the . Nothing like this, however, the history of the Earth knows. She knows major geological catastrophes in which the highest mountains perished, new oceans, entire continents were born, but all this can be fully explained by the activity of the Earth itself, and not the Sun.
So, all three mentioned hypotheses about the causes of the "burning" of the Sun turned out to be untenable. Science, which was able to explain many of the most complex phenomena on Earth, for a very long time lowered its hands before the mystery of the activity of the Sun. Now it has become clear that the solution to this riddle must be sought not in the depths of space, but in the depths of the Sun.
And here the science of the super-large - astronomy - came to the aid of the science of the super-small - the physics of the atomic nucleus.
The vital activity of all life on earth is supported by sunlight. He is a source of warmth, growth, development. For many centuries, mankind has been wondering where the endless power comes from in the luminary? It is especially interesting what is the cause of such a glow, and how long will it last?
Failed assumptions about the glow of the Sun
For centuries, scientists have been convinced that the Sun is very dense, composed of combustible material and constantly burning. But it is known that no metal, stone or other substance can do this indefinitely. The fire will one day run out.
The age of the red-hot star has long been established. It has been giving light around itself to the planetary system for many billions of years (long before the appearance of the first man). Only the surface temperature is 6000 degrees. It becomes clear that the "fuse" would not be enough until today. It should have been burned to the ground.
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The nature of light, or what does light consist of? - Photo and video
Other men of science have looked for the secret of permanent light in the endless collisions of a celestial body with the millions of meteorites that it attracts. But this theory turned out to be wrong. According to strict mathematical calculations, the mass of meteorites significantly exceeded the mass of the Sun in the multibillion-year history of existence. It would have been destroyed by similar bombers.
Interesting fact: The distance from the Earth to the Sun is on average 150 million km. Sunlight overcomes it in 8.3 minutes.
Versions were put forward about the excessive attraction of solar particles, causing compression of the volume of a luminous star. But every time new flaws were revealed.
Only at the beginning of the last century, physicists turned their attention to the internal structure and the processes associated with its features.
The sun is a hot gaseous ball, exceeding the mass of the earth by more than 1.3 million times. In the center is the core, the temperature of which exceeds 15,000,000 degrees. It performs the function of a nuclear reactor. Following from it to the surface, several zones are distinguished: radiative transfer, convective, photosphere, chromosphere, corona. The sun is made up of:
- hydrogen (74%)
- helium (25%)
- another 60 items (approximately 1%).
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The glow of the sun
With every second, lighter hydrogen is burned in the center, which converts it into heavy helium. For the formation of 1 helium core, the fusion of 4 hydrogen cores is required. This process is identical to the reactions in the atomic bomb, only slower. And it's called thermonuclear fusion.
Why does the sun shine? Probably, every parent has come across the curiosity of their children, who are ready to ask a thousand and one questions a day. Teaching a child to observe the environment, the kid had a question, why is the sun burning, and what would happen if it stopped illuminating. It seems that every adult knows simple questions and answers to them.
But we can not always accurately and correctly answer them. Many interesting stories, facts can be found in encyclopedias, expanses of the World Wide Web. Recall from the school course of astronomy, in terms of mass and size, the Sun is many times larger than the Earth. It consists of hydrogen (mainly) and helium.
Around the daytime celestial body there are many different legends and myths of every nation. In ancient times, they considered the God of light and worshiped him, dedicated songs, performed rituals. For example, they called him - Yarilo, in ancient Egypt - Ra, Greece - Helios in a golden chariot, in Australia - the image of a girl sitting on a tree, the ancient Slavs called the four faces of God - Khorsu, Yarilo, Dzhadbog, Svarog.
One of the legends says that its light and heat is due to the constant burning of coal, but how much coal must be burned. According to the ancient myths of the Egyptian people, Ra sails daily in a boat along the Nile during the day, and fights in the underworld at night, returning in the morning as a winner. The Greeks painted Helios in a golden helmet, considered him an inhabitant of Olympus.
The peoples of Africa compared all phenomena of incomprehensible origin with different parts of the human body. In their view, with luminous armpits, he controlled time periods. He will let go of his hand, it will begin to get dark, he will go to bed, the night will come. Hindus, the inhabitants of India, deified Surya as a healer and guardian of the gates of heaven. Its main attribute is a carriage with seven horses. Along with myths, superstitious people came up with signs related specifically to the color of the sun.
A lot of time has passed and not a few discoveries have been made by scientists. For example, they proved that the Sun is a star, and not a satellite of our Earth. Day star - plays the most important role on planet Earth. The life of not only a person, but also all living things around depends on its rays and heat. Long ago, our ancestors noticed that in the morning the sun rises, it becomes warm, light.
Our planet is in the solar system, therefore, the sun is the center of this system. And each planet makes its revolution around it, following its own axis. If the planet of the solar system is a solid state, then a star called the Sun is a gaseous ball.
Like all stars, the sun is a combination of dust and gas, due to the constantly occurring reactions inside the core of the transformation of hydrogen into helium at a very high temperature. This whole process is accompanied by the emission of light that we see. During the day, the sun's rays illuminate the entire earth, warming the population of different continents at different times.
Why does the sun shine during the day
The radiant sun smiles at us in the morning. When science was not developed, and astronomy as a science was not known, people simply observed the celestial bodies. And at one time they made the discovery that with the rising of one luminary, day comes, and with its setting, night. Various legends were composed about the daylight, various names were given.
Attempts have been made to unravel why it happens only during the day. Explaining the movement of the deity Ra (personified the sun god), Egypt composed a beautiful legend. In the morning he sailed along the river, rushing with him peace, tranquility. At night he descended into the dungeon, fought and won, returning the next day, giving a new dawn.
After a long time, scientists have refuted, not a few facts. They proved that the Sun is a star and all the planets of its system revolve around it. It is the brightest and largest star in relation to the planets, which is closest to the blue planet.
So, why does the sun shine during the day and not at night, and if it is a star, then why do we not see it in the night sky. The answers to these questions are very simple. The planet revolves not only around the Sun, it turns revolutions around its own axis. Morning or night will come, depending on which side it is turned to the light source. Its rise depends on the rotation of the Earth.
Our morning comes and the day begins when the sun appears from behind the horizon line. During the day, we cannot observe the night stars in the sky, this is due to the fact that the sun's rays scatter, overshadowing their faded flicker.
Why does the sun shine brightly
For a person, the theme of the cosmos, celestial bodies, the universe, will always remain not fully understood. It captivates with its obscurity, the mystery of more than one millennium. Scientists from different time periods tried to unravel the mystery of day and night. They came up with various ways to observe the movements of bodies in the sky, created observatories and a telescope, and conquered space. All of the above actions did not help a person get closer to the main source of life. The surface of the moon has been studied, but it is not possible to fly up to the Sun.
Not only favorable weather, good mood, but, in general, all the life support of living organisms depends on sunny days. It is proved that the Sun is gaseous. This is evidenced by the temperature inside the core. Its surface is covered with high temperature, due to which various transformation reactions occur. Thermonuclear reactions require a large amount of energy.
Therefore, we see a small circle in the daytime sky, warming everything around and giving life. To date, not a single metal, not a single substance, not a single matter is known to the world that can tolerate temperatures of several thousand Celsius.
How long it will shine, no one knows, modern technologies suggest that hydrogen reserves should be enough for several billion years, no one knows for sure. In the process of combustion, not only physical, but chemical substances expand. The minds of science put forward a version when the reserves of hydrogen and helium begin to run low, the core will shrink, the surface will expand, an explosion will occur, a bright star will die, turning into fog. The vital activity of all living things will stop.
It's hard to believe, but those stars that shine at night from the sky, and the Sun that illuminates us during the day, are one and the same. Why does the Sun shine during the day and not at night like "normal" stars? Let's dive into the science.
Details about the sun
The sun is the star closest to our planet. The Sun is the center of our planetary system, which got its name from the name of the star - Solar.
The distance from the Earth to the Sun is approximately 150,000,000 kilometers. The mass of a star named the Sun is 330,000 times greater than the mass of our planet. At the same time, the Sun is not a solid body, like the Earth, but is a spherical accumulation of hot gases.
If someone does not believe in the gaseous nature of the Sun, then just imagine: the temperature on its surface is approximately 6000 degrees Celsius. The core (central part) of the Sun is heated to millions of temperatures. No material, alloy or element currently known to science will be able to maintain a solid state at such temperatures.
Why the sun shines: a scientific explanation
It used to be believed that the Sun shines due to the burning of the elements that make up its composition. But according to rough estimates, even rough ones, it cannot “burn out” for billions of years, the Sun should have gone out a long time ago, having lost mass, thereby breaking the gravitational balance in the system of planets and letting them float freely across the expanses of the Galaxy. But this does not happen, the Sun has been shining for billions of years and does not think to dry up. What makes the sun shine?
Scientists have found and proved that the glow of the Sun is the result of the release of colossal amounts of energy obtained as a result of thermonuclear processes occurring in it.
Thermonuclear processes are remarkable in that when matter is consumed, millions of times more energy is released than during combustion. Yes, that's why thermonuclear energy is the future, its minus is the difficulty of starting the reaction. To start a thermonuclear reaction requires a huge amount of energy and complex types of consumables, such as synthetic uranium or plutonium.
Why does the sun shine during the day and not at night
Everything is simple here. The very phenomenon of night is the turn of a part of the planet with its "back" to the Sun. And since the planet rotates uniformly around its axis, and the revolution takes about 24 hours, it is easy to calculate the time allotted for the night - 12 hours. So it turns out that half of the Earth is turned towards the Sun for 12 hours and it illuminates it, and in the remaining 12 hours it is on the other side of the globe, not illuminated by the Sun. It turns out that when the Sun shines, we have day, and when the Sun does not illuminate our part of the Earth, we have night. Phenomena such as morning and evening are side effects caused by the ambiguous nature of light and the concomitant effect of diffraction.
So, knowing now why the Sun shines, you should also find out how much he has left to please us. This is about 5 billion years, after losing about a percent of its mass, the Sun will lose stability and go out.
