Sun Apr 22, 2012, 10:02 PM
Odin2005 (53,521 posts)
A funny fact about the sun is that it is a very slow nuclear reactor.
It's power comes from it's mass, any particular square inch of the Sun's core does not produce enough energy to power a TV, but the sun is huge and all that energy adds up
And that slowness is a good thing, it's why it's been chugging along for 4.6 billion years and will keep chugging for another 5 billion. To give some perspective, any one proton in the sun's core has only a 50% of being fused into a helium nucleus over the Sun's entire lifetime. Red dwarfs are even slower, and the whole star is convective, so it has to go through ALL of it's hydrogen before it dies, that will take over a TRILLION years, Proxima Centauri will be burning hydrogen long after the Sun and Alpha Centauri have died. The great mass of the big blue stars means that they burn very quickly and the most massive like the bright blue stars in the Orion Nebula, live for only a few million years despite weighing up to 130 times more than the Sun.
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10 replies, 3165 views
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Author | Time | Post |
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Odin2005 | Apr 2012 | OP |
MannyGoldstein | Apr 2012 | #1 | |
rhett o rick | Apr 2012 | #2 | |
eqfan592 | Apr 2012 | #4 | |
Odin2005 | Apr 2012 | #6 | |
rhett o rick | Apr 2012 | #9 | |
Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #10 | |
snagglepuss | Apr 2012 | #3 | |
saras | Apr 2012 | #5 | |
oldhippydude | Apr 2012 | #7 | |
eridani | Apr 2012 | #8 |
Response to Odin2005 (Original post)
Sun Apr 22, 2012, 10:45 PM
MannyGoldstein (34,589 posts)
1. That's really interesting, thanks! nt
Response to Odin2005 (Original post)
Sun Apr 22, 2012, 11:27 PM
rhett o rick (55,981 posts)
2. Thanks for the article. However, the energy from the sun is from a fusion reaction.
So far we dont have any fusion nuclear reactors.
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Response to rhett o rick (Reply #2)
Sun Apr 22, 2012, 11:54 PM
eqfan592 (5,963 posts)
4. Not exactly sure why you posted this...
...as I didn't see the OP claiming differently, but maybe I missed it? Or was it just for added information?
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Response to eqfan592 (Reply #4)
Mon Apr 23, 2012, 12:06 AM
Odin2005 (53,521 posts)
6. I was just rabling about a thought I had.
Response to Odin2005 (Reply #6)
Mon Apr 23, 2012, 07:42 AM
rhett o rick (55,981 posts)
9. Sorry if I was getting picky. Someday we may have fusion reactors. nm
Response to rhett o rick (Reply #2)
Tue Apr 24, 2012, 05:07 AM
Fumesucker (45,851 posts)
10. It's possible to build a fusion reactor in a decently equipped home shop..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusor
The Farnsworth–Hirsch fusor, or simply fusor, is an apparatus designed by Philo T. Farnsworth to create nuclear fusion. It has also been developed in various incarnations by researchers including Elmore, Tuck, and Watson, and more recently by George H. Miley and Robert W. Bussard. Unlike most controlled fusion systems, which slowly heat a magnetically confined plasma, the fusor injects "high temperature" ions directly into a reaction chamber, thereby avoiding a considerable amount of complexity. The approach is known as inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC). Hopes at the time were high that it could be quickly developed into a practical source of fusion power. However, as with other fusion experiments, development into a generator has proven to be difficult. Nevertheless, the fusor has since become a practical source of free neutrons, and it is produced commercially for this purpose. Fusors have been assembled in low-power forms by hobbyists. |
Response to Odin2005 (Original post)
Sun Apr 22, 2012, 11:45 PM
snagglepuss (12,704 posts)
3. Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Response to Odin2005 (Original post)
Sun Apr 22, 2012, 11:55 PM
saras (6,670 posts)
5. Only 5 billion more? Shit, it's nearly half over already.
Response to saras (Reply #5)
Mon Apr 23, 2012, 12:56 AM
oldhippydude (2,514 posts)
7. solar dereciation allowance... peak photon..
the end is near!!!!
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Response to Odin2005 (Original post)
Mon Apr 23, 2012, 01:26 AM
eridani (51,907 posts)