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Chapter 14: Problem 13

T/F: Photons from the center of the Sun take a very, very long time to reach the surface.

Short Answer

Expert verified
True. Photons take a very long time to escape the dense Sun’s interior.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Nature of Photons

Photons are elementary particles of light that travel at the speed of light. In a vacuum, they move in straight lines.
02

Consider the Conditions Inside the Sun

The Sun's interior is extremely dense and hot. Photons generated in the center of the Sun undergo numerous interactions with particles, which means they continuously scatter in different directions.
03

Analyze Photon Travel Time

Due to the frequent scattering, instead of moving straight to the surface, photons follow a 'random walk.' This process causes significant delays in their journey from the core to the Sun’s surface.
04

Conclusion Based on Analysis

Given the continuous interactions and random walk, photons from the Sun's center indeed take a very long time, estimated to be thousands to millions of years, to reach the surface.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Sun's interior conditions
The Sun's core is an incredible place. It has extremely high temperatures, reaching up to around 15 million degrees Celsius. This intense heat causes nuclear fusion, where hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium. This fusion process releases a tremendous amount of energy, including photons, which are light particles.
Furthermore, the core is incredibly dense. It's so dense that it makes the Sun's interior much different from the outer layers. This density greatly affects how photons travel through the Sun. Because of the high density and temperature, photons constantly interact with particles inside the Sun, making their journey to the surface quite complex.
Photon scattering
Photon scattering is key to understanding why photons take so long to exit the Sun. When photons are created in the Sun's core, they don't head in a straight path to the surface. Instead, they frequently collide with other particles like electrons and protons.
These collisions are called 'scattering' events. Every time a photon scatters, its direction changes. Think of it like trying to walk through a crowded room where every step, someone bumps into you, turning you around. This constant change in direction makes the photon's journey very zigzag.
Random walk process
The 'random walk process' is a perfect way to describe the photon's journey through the Sun. Because photons scatter in many different directions randomly, this movement is not straightforward. Instead, it's very erratic and random.
Imagine you're taking steps but with no clear direction – one step forward, two steps to the side, one step back, and so on. This describes the photon's path. Mathematically, this is known as a 'random walk,' and it results in an average of millions of years for a photon to travel from the core to the surface. This process is crucial for understanding why light takes so long to escape the Sun.
Light particles
Photons, or light particles, are essential in the study of astronomy and physics. These massless particles carry energy and move at the speed of light in a vacuum.
In the vacuum of space, photons travel in straight lines and can cover vast distances in a short time. However, within a medium like the Sun's interior, their journey is far from straightforward. The photon's interaction with the dense, hot plasma inside the Sun leads them into the random walk process, significantly delaying their arrival at the surface.
Understanding photons' behavior helps scientists predict and study various phenomena in astrophysics, including the life and functioning of stars like our Sun.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Earth-bound observers can observe the solar wind by (select all that apply) a. observing auroras. b. mapping Earth's magnetic field. c. observing the stock market. d. tracking the behavior of power grids.

Verify the claim made at the start of this chapter that the Sun produces more energy per second than all the electric power plants on Earth could generate in a half-million years. Estimate or look up how many power plants there are on the planet, and how much energy an average power plant produces. Be sure to account for different kinds of power-for example, coal, nuclear, wind.

Why are neutrinos so difficult to detect?

The solar wind pushes on the magnetosphere of Earth, changing its shape, because a. the solar wind is so dense. b. the magnetosphere is so weak. c. the solar wind contains charged particles. d. the solar wind is so fast.

Which of the following energy transport mechanisms is active in the layer directly outside the core of the Sun? a. convection b. conduction c. radiation
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