• Question: What is at the center of the sun

    Asked by 443thaf27 to Christie, Dan, David, Dawn, Sian on 17 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: David Robertson

      David Robertson answered on 17 Jun 2016:

      The centre of the sun is a very hot, dense plasma – this is a gas so hot that the atoms have been broken up so that the cores and their electrons are all mixed together. The plasma is so hot that nuclear fusion takes place – this is the reaction that generates all the heat. Nuclear fusion is colliding Hydrogen atom cores (protons) at high enough speed that they fuse to form Helium. People have been trying for years to start reactors that can do this on earth. The latest project is a big European one ITER http://www.iter.org

    • Photo: Christie Waddington

      Christie Waddington answered on 17 Jun 2016:

      At the centre of the sun is made up of a hot, dense plasma (ions and electrons, a special type of gas) at a very very high pressure and an extremely high temperature (15 million 0C!!). Its quite cool as it makes 99% of the fusion power of the sun (hydrogen => helium!).

    • Photo: Sian Thomas

      Sian Thomas answered on 18 Jun 2016:

      Great answers David and Christie. Sorry, I am never going to have anything to add.

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