Solar Physics is a science that studies the sun’s atmosphere and its energy. It covers the physics of the Sun’s core convection and radiative zones, as well as the surface.
The hottest area of the Sun is its core, where hydrogen is converted to Helium through nuclear Fusion. This process powers the sun’s heat and light.
The Sun
Our Solar System’s main source of energy is the Sun. Its physics are very complex that require many different disciplines to investigate.
The most important thing is the nuclear fusion physics at the heart of the Sun. This involves the compression of hydrogen atoms, the formation of helium, and the release of tremendous quantities of light and heat.
The Sun’s primary gas is hydrogen. It is about 92 percent of the total gas (NASA). Other gases and metals such as oxygen, carbon nitrogen, silicon, neon, magnesium, iron, sulfur, and chromium make only a tiny portion of the Sun’s mass.
The Core
In the very center of the Sun, temperatures are so high that hydrogen nuclei can smash into helium, releasing immense amounts of energy. There are many forms of this energy are released, including gamma radiation which can disperse into space, and neutrinos, that are directly released from the sun.
The complex physics at its core of fusion is hard to replicate on Earth. It is also difficult to model the enormous amount of heat that accumulates in the Sun over many decades.
Solar Physics is multidisciplinary and requires coordination between researchers from various disciplines. The Stanford Solar Observatory Group, with its instruments on the WSO and SOHO is an integral part of this effort. The group is committed to advancing and implementing new technologies, techniques for modeling and data analysis techniques to better understand the Sun and its interactions with the rest of our Solar System.
The Radiative Zone
The Radiative Zone of the Sun is a place where nuclear fusion energy is transferred through radiation. Radiation travels from the center to the surface through the radiative zone.
The radiation from the center gets absorbed by hydrogen and Helium, and then released. Each interaction will lose some energy, and that’s why it takes about 200,000 years to make this journey from the Sun’s central region to its surface.
Convection happens in the radiation zone’s outermost region and hot gas rises into thermal columns. It’s like hot wax in a lava lamp or water boiling in an oven. These gases fall back into the sun’s core to be heated. This process creates giant bubbles, or convection cells in the solar atmosphere.
The Convection Zone
The Sun’s convection zone is made of plasma which is a gas which conducts electrical currents. It extends from the surface to 200,000km below , and is constantly moving.
The physics behind this layer is fascinating and complex. It has a large temperature gradient from the chromosphere all the way to the transition region.
It is also extremely heterogeneous and dynamic. As it passes from one temperature to the next, plasma dynamically changes density and temperature.
This is what allows the Sun to move in a predictable and predictable manner. The frequency of this rhythmic rise and fall is seen in the frequency of sunspots.
The Surface
The Sun’s surface is the point where solar energy is transferred to space and Earth. It is comprised of a thin, cooler layer called the photosphere. It is about 500 km (300 miles) wide and has temperatures of around 5,500 K, or around 9000 degC.
The outer layers of the Sun are the places where sun’s energy and heat is transformed by nuclear fusion. This is the cause of a gradual but steady change in Sun’s composition , from neodymium to hydrogen then to Helium.
When there is a lot of activity when the Sun releases outbursts, which are known as coronal mass ejections. These can cause disruption to communications and power grids on Earth.
Leave a Reply