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The Sun

The document summarizes the structure and energy production of the sun. It discusses how the sun is composed of four main layers - the solar interior, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. In the solar interior, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium and releases tremendous energy. This energy radiates out through the photosphere, which acts as the visible surface, and passes through the chromosphere and corona before spreading through the solar system in the solar wind.

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73 views26 pages

The Sun

The document summarizes the structure and energy production of the sun. It discusses how the sun is composed of four main layers - the solar interior, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. In the solar interior, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium and releases tremendous energy. This energy radiates out through the photosphere, which acts as the visible surface, and passes through the chromosphere and corona before spreading through the solar system in the solar wind.

Uploaded by

ayu miaw
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOLAR ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY

SF41503

The Sun
Sun Facts
• An “Average” Star
• Diameter = 109 x Earth (1,392,000 km)
• Volume = 1,300,000 x Earth
• Mass = 333,000 x Earth
• Density = ¼ x Earth (12.4 x earth. 1.408 g/cm3)
Structure of the Sun

• The sun is made of gas, no sharp


boundaries exist
• We can divide the sun into four parts: the
solar interior; the visible surface, or
photosphere; and two atmospheric layers,
the chromosphere and corona
• The interior makes up all but a tiny
fraction of the sun’s mass
Solar Structure
Concept Check

• What is the structure of the sun?


– The solar interior,
– the photosphere,
– the chromosphere, and
– the corona
The Solar Interior
• Nuclear Fusion – The process by which the
sun produces energy; this nuclear reaction
converts four hydrogen nuclei into the nucleus
of a helium atom and tremendous energy is
released
• Only a small percentage of the hydrogen in the
nuclear reaction is actually converted to energy
• As Hydrogen is consumed, the product of the
reaction – helium – forms the solar core
• It is believed that a star our size can exist in its
stable state for ~10 Billion years, making our
sun middle-aged at ~4.5 Billion years old
Nuclear Fusion
Concept Check

• How does the sun produce energy?


• Deep in its interior, the sun produces
energy by a process known as nuclear
fusion, wherein four hydrogen nuclei are
converted into the nucleus of a helium
atom and tremendous energy is released.
Photosphere
• Photosphere – radiates most of the light we
see and can be thought of as the visible
“surface” of the sun
• The photosphere consists of a layer of gas less
than 500 km thick
• It has a grainy texture resulting from numerous
relatively small (the size of Texas), bright
markings called granules
• They owe their brightness to hotter gases rising
from the interior, it spreads and cools,
eventually sinking back into the interior
• The combined motion of the hotter material
replacing the cooler material is called
convection
Photosphere
Chromosphere

• Chromosphere – A relatively thin layer


of hot gases a few km thick above the
photosphere
• Only observable for a few moments during
a total solar eclipse or with special
instruments that block out the light from
the photosphere
Chromosphere
Corona and Solar Wind
• Corona – outer most portion of the solar
atmosphere, very weak and is visible only when
the photosphere is covered
• Envelope of ionized gases normally extend
millions of kilometers from the sun
• Solar Wind – Streams of protons and electrons
that boil from the corona
• The wind travels outward through the solar
system at speeds up to 800 km/s
• During this journey, the solar wind interacts with
different bodies in the solar system, including
our Earth’s magnetosphere
Corona and Solar Wind
Concept Check

• Which layer of the sun can be thought of


as its surface?
• The photosphere
Sunspots
• Sunspots – dark regions on the surface of the
photosphere, an individual spot contains a black
center rimmed by a lighter region
• Sunspots appear dark because of their
temperature, about 1200 oC less than that of
the surrounding solar surface
• During the 1800s, people believed that a tiny
planet named Vulcan was orbiting between
Mercury and the Sun
• The number of sunspots varies on an 11-year
cycle
Sunspots
Mean Annual Sunspot Numbers
Concept Check

• Are the same number of sunspots always


present on the sun? Explain.
• No, because the number of sunspots
varies in an 11-year cycle.
Prominences

• Prominences – huge cloudlike structures


consisting of chromospheric gases
• They appear as great arches that extend
into the corona
• Others rise explosively away from the sun
• Prominences are ionized gases trapped by
magnetic fields that extend from regions
of intense solar activity
Prominences
Solar Flares
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid27979966001?bctid=79384373001

• Solar Flares – brief outbursts that normally last


about an hour and appear as a sudden
brightening of the region above a sunspot
cluster
• During their existence, solar flares release
enormous amounts of energy, much of it in the
form of ultraviolet, radio, and x-ray radiation
• Fast moving particles are ejected, causing the
solar wind to intensify
• Auroras – following solar flares, Earth’s upper
atmosphere near the magnetic poles is set
alight; also called the northern and southern
lights
Solar Flares and the Aurora
Conclusion

• The sun, source of energy


• Structure of the sun
• How sun generate energy
• The effect on earth

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