Sun Fuses Hydrogen for 4.5 Billion Years, Converting 4.26 Million Tonnes a Second
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 21
Sun Fuses Hydrogen for 4.5 Billion Years, Converting 4.26 Million Tonnes a Second
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 21
Summary
4.26 million tonnes of mass become energy each second in the Sun’s core, where nuclear fusion turns hydrogen into helium rather than chemical combustion.
15 million degrees Celsius at the core provides the heat and pressure for that fusion, while no oxygen is needed and no flame is involved.
Plasma—the Sun’s main state—is ionized gas whose charged particles conduct electricity and respond strongly to magnetic fields, unlike ordinary neutral gas.
5,500 degrees Celsius at the photosphere and about 2 million degrees in the corona show the Sun behaves as a magnetically active plasma, not a fire.
More than 99% of the visible universe is plasma, according to the US Department of Energy, with lightning, neon signs, auroras and welding arcs as familiar Earthly examples.