The
Discovery Channel has produced a video called, "The Savage Sun".
It is a supberb video in its ability to explain and demonstrate many of
the complexities of the sun. I reccomend it highly for anyone who is interested
in understanding "our star" better. I used it to lay down the ground
work for how the production of Aurora here on Earth begin on the surface
of, and even deep within the core of the Sun.
http://teacherstore.discovery.com/product/1170-1588-739961.html
The sun is a ball of gas and plasma in a constant state of production, depletion and emission of particles and energy. Ernest Rutherford and Francis Aston laid down the beginning stages of our understanding of the sun. Rutherford stated that radioactivity is associated with nuclear transformations. ((Lang; Sun, Earth and Sky, 1995) Aston proved that the mass of the product of four hydrogen atoms was slightly less than the mass of their Helium product. They both received Nobel prizes for their work.
The chemical equations that describe the “Proton-Proton Cycle” are as follows:
1 1
2
H + H ----> H + positron + neutrino + 0.42 Mev
Energy release is calculated by the product of
1 1
1
the mass difference ( in AMU’s) and a conversion
factor of 931.5 Mev/ AMU
1 2
3
H + H ----> H + gamma ray + 5.49 Mev
1 1
1
3 3
4 1 1
He + He ----> He + H + H + 12.86 Mev
2 2
2 1 1
The single Helium product in the final equation is the result of two Helium three reactants. These reactants were the products of two dueterium reactions with hydrogen, as shown in the second equation . Again these reactants were the result of two of the first equation.
2
3
4
2 H ----> 2 He ----> He +
2 positron + 2 neutrino + 2(0.42 Mev) + 2 gamma ray + 2(5.49 Mev)
+ 12.86 Mev
1
2
2
A silent wind blows through the blackness of interplanetary space.
The wind is mostly steady, but at times shock waves burst from large eruptions -- like solar flares that arch high above the sun's corona -- and race towards the Earth at speeds up to a thousand miles per second. In a few days the solar wind's shock waves slam into the third planet's magnetic field causing disturbances that cascade throughout the Earth's magnetosphere. One well-known result is the aurora borealis seen in northern skies. The solar wind is a hot plasma of highly ionized gas, mostly hydrogen. It is a hot, rarefied plasma that expands out from the sun at a steady flow of 300-400 kilometers per second. Plasma -- the fourth phase of matter -- is distinct from solids, liquids, and normal gases. Plasma is a highly ionized gas composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles. Within the cosmos of stars and planets plasma is the dominant phase of matter. The solar wind plasma carries a large amount of energy and its interaction with the Earth's magnetospheric plasma causes many dynamic processes. These interactions include a connection between the solar wind plasma and the Earth's magnetic field, and the acceleration of ions and electrons.
Though less than 1% of the solar wind penetrates the magnetosphere,
that's enough to generate millions of amps of electric current in our atmosphere
and to cause occasional magnetic storms in the space around Earth. Changes
in the solar wind may also affect the properties of the Earth's lower atmosphere,
including weather and climate. Through changes in the Earth's magnetosphere,
the solar wind can disrupt communications and cause power-grid failures.
Solar wind causes comets to have tails.