I was sitting and wondering about a question "Is the Sun consuming the universe' Oxygen?". I really had no idea how can I answer myself. But after surfing the net for some period of time, I got some understandable answers.
The Sun we are seeing these day is not burning. It gives off light because it is a very huge ball of gas and a process called "Nuclear Fusion" is taking place in its core. So what is "Nuclear Fusion"? Well, that is the main part of what I wanna cover.
Nuclear Fusion is a process that the Sun, and other stars use to produce energy. It is a bit hard to understand, but I hope you can get what I am trying to say. Nuclear Fusion happens when atomic nuclei (pl. of nucleus) smash into each other to form a heavier nucleus.
Nuclear Fusion, somehow, needs a very large heat from the start. On earth, to have the process triggered, we need to raise the temperature up to 150,000,000 degree Celsius, which is 10 times hotter than the Sun' core. When the temperature reaches that value, the atom turns to the "plasma" state, the fourth state of matter, the others three are : solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma state can also be called "ionized gas". In this state, the electrons moving around the the nucleus broke free, and then the process above can happen (as in picture).
With this one, I read so many things.
It was quite complex.
I just hope that I was not wrong ;)
Source : www.wikipedia.com
It was quite complex.
I just hope that I was not wrong ;)
Source : www.wikipedia.com
