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Chapter 14: Problem 45

The Sun has a radius equal to about 2.3 light-seconds. Explain why a gamma ray produced in the Sun's core does not emerge from the Sun's surface 2.3 seconds later.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Gamma rays get absorbed and re-emitted many times within the Sun, taking thousands to millions of years to reach the surface instead of 2.3 seconds.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the Radius of the Sun

The Sun has a radius of about 2.3 light-seconds. This means that light, in a vacuum, would take 2.3 seconds to travel from the Sun's center to its surface if there were no obstacles.
02

Gamma Rays Production in the Core

Gamma rays are produced in the core of the Sun during nuclear fusion. In the core, conditions are extremely dense and energetic due to high pressures and temperatures.
03

Interaction with Solar Material

As gamma rays travel from the core to the surface, they interact with particles in the Sun, such as protons, electrons, and ions. These interactions cause the gamma rays to be absorbed and re-emitted multiple times.
04

Random Walk Process

This process of absorption and re-emission can be described as a 'random walk.' Each time a gamma ray is absorbed and re-emitted, it scatters in a different direction, causing its path to become very zigzagged.
05

Time Calculation

Due to the random walk process and high density of the Sun's interior, a gamma ray takes a very long time to reach the Sun's surface. Instead of 2.3 seconds, it can take thousands to millions of years for a gamma ray to emerge from the Sun.

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Key Concepts

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

Sun's Radius
Understanding the Sun's radius is essential. The Sun has a radius of about 2.3 light-seconds. This means if you could see through the Sun, it would take light 2.3 seconds to travel from the Sun's center to its surface. That's because light, in a vacuum, travels at a constant speed of roughly 300,000 kilometers per second. So, you can imagine this as a straight path with no blocks.
Gamma Ray Production
Gamma rays are produced in the Sun’s core. This is where nuclear fusion happens, the process that powers the Sun. In this process, hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form helium, releasing tremendous amounts of energy, including gamma rays. The conditions in the core are extreme, with temperatures soaring at approximately 15 million degrees Celsius. This high-energy environment is essential for gamma ray production.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the heart of the Sun's energy production. In the core, hydrogen atoms combine to create helium through fusion. This releases a huge amount of energy, primarily in the form of gamma rays. It’s this nuclear fusion process that makes the Sun shine and supports life on Earth. Understanding fusion helps us grasp why gamma rays are so energetic and crucial.
Interaction with Particles
As gamma rays are created, their journey to the Sun's surface isn't straightforward. They interact with solar particles along the way. The Sun's interior is filled with various particles like protons, electrons, and ions. When a gamma ray hits one of these particles, it’s absorbed and then re-emitted. This absorption and re-emission means the gamma ray constantly changes direction, scattering zigzag.
Random Walk Process
The random walk process describes the gamma rays' tricky path through the Sun. Due to constant interactions with particles, gamma rays follow a zigzagged path, making their journey time-consuming. Instead of traveling directly to the surface in just 2.3 seconds, gamma rays take a very indirect path. This can take anywhere from thousands to millions of years. The random walk process explains why gamma rays take so long compared to simple light travel.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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.

True or false: The Maunder Minimum shows a correlation between low solar activity and a cooler climate on Earth. This correlation means that the low solar activity definitely caused the cooler climate.

Go to the Solar Stormwatch website (http://solarstormwatch \(. \mathrm{com},\) a Zooniverse project from the Royal observatory in Greenwich, England. Zooniverse projects offer an opportunity for people to contribute to science by analyzing pieces of data. Create an account for Zooniverse if you don't already have one (you will use it again in this course). Login and click on "Spot and Track Storms" and go through the Spot and Track training exercises. You are now ready to look at some real data. Click on an image to do the classification. Save a screen shot for your homework.

Assume that the Sun's mass is about 300,000 Earth masses and that its radius is about 100 times that of Earth. The density of Earth is about \(5,500 \mathrm{kg} / \mathrm{m}^{3}\). a. What is the average density of the Sun? b. How does this compare with the density of water?

The Sun's visible "surface" is not a true surface, but a feature called the photosphere. Explain why the photosphere is not a true surface.
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