The Raw Power of the Sun: How Was the Sun Formed?

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1 The Raw Power of the Sun: How Was the Sun Formed?

2 Did you know that the sun is approximately 4.5 billion years old? In addition to it being an essential component of life on Earth, we ve always used it to our advantage in one way or another: early man used it to tell time and to differentiate one day from the next, our ancestors used it to help dry their clothes more quickly on riverbanks across the world, and today we use its rays to power the electricity in our homes and businesses. This latter usage is what we want to talk about: solar energy. We have this fantastic spectacle, and we ve managed to harness its energy to make our lives better. That s worth celebrating, right? So the sun has always been here, but how well do you actually know it? We reckon there are a few things you don t know. Let us shine a light on things (pun intended).

3 Facts About the Sun At its centre, the sun reaches temperatures of 15 million C One million Earths could fit in the sun The sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system: it has a mass of around 330,000 times that of Earth The sun is middle-aged: at 4.5 billion years old, it has burned off around half of its hydrogen-stores, and has enough left to continue burning for another 5 billion years or so The sun is a whole range of colours mixed together it s just so bright that it appears white to our eyes (from Earth, anyway)

4 Life-Cycle of a Star Here s what the life-cycle of a star looks like, from the point of formation to the final supernova explosion, where a star ceases to be. Phase 1: Giant Molecular Cloud All stars are born from large clouds of gas, known as giant molecular clouds, where the temperature is low enough for molecules to form. Comprised primarily of hydrogen molecules and helium atoms, these clouds often contain more mass than a million suns. Phase 2: Protostar Here s how things work in the protostar phase: as gas particles collide with each other in the molecular cloud, heat energy is created, which then allows a warm cluster of molecules to form in the gas cloud. This cluster of molecules is called a protostar, and it s one of the earliest stages of star formation.

5 Phase 3: T-Tauri At this stage, our young star will begin to generate turbulent winds with enough force to push the surrounding gases away. Our newborn star is pushing its way into the universe, and is now visible for the first time. Phase 4: Main Sequence Star The star now becomes a main sequence star, and reaches something called hydrostatic equilibrium. This means that it takes a more solid shape, as its gravity compression is counterbalanced by the outward pressure of the T-tauri stage. The star will spend the majority of its life in this stage, fusing hydrogen molecules to create helium. Phase 5: Giant A star reaches giant stage when all of its hydrogen-stores have been converted to helium. It then collapses in on itself and expands.

6 Phase 6: Core Fusion At this stage, the star continues to expand until it begins to fuse its helium-stores. It s now consuming its own energy in a bid to survive, but it soon repeats phase 5 and collapses in on itself. The difference at stage 6 is that iron begins to form at the star s centre. Because iron absorbs energy, it causes an explosion within the star. This then leads to the next phase. Phase 7: Supernova The final stage involves a blinding explosion: the star has no energy-stores left, and perishes. The exploded core of the star remains, and is referred to as the white dwarf. Gravity then compacts the white dwarf further, until it begins to consume its own atoms, and then it s engulfed by the immense gravitational field of a black hole.

7 There you have it: the life-cycle of the sun. We re about five billion years away from the final three phases, so there s plenty of life left in our sun yet! The sun is a fascinating entity, and if you d like to harness its power, get in touch. Homes and businesses across the world are seeing the benefits of solar panels, and you can too. Call us on , or fill in an enquiry form.