"Is it true that scientists at NASA are looking for life on the moons of Jupiter?"
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Question
How do we know that the Sun's energy does not come for chemical burning?
It is not chemical burning because (1) there is not nearly enough oxygen to burn (oxidize) anything, (2) even if the Sun were composed of the right chemicals for burning, there would be only enough chemical energy for less than a million years, and (3) we know from the internal temperature and pressure of the Sun that hydrogen fusion will take place in the core and release the same amount of energy we see radiated from the surface of the Sun. (Historically, it was thought in the late 19th century and early 20th century that the source of the Sun's energy might be gravitational contraction, but then the discovery of hydrogen fusion reactions provided an explanation that fits not only the current state of the Sun but also its age of roughly 5 billion years.) David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
January 17, 2006
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