ASTR 1P01 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Radiation, Heat Transfer

• School: Brock University
• Department: Astronomy
• Course: ASTR 1P01
• Professor: Bozidar Mitrovic

Document Summary

The calculations show that the sun will continue its lifespan for another 5 billion years. Energy transport of from the fusion core to the surface. Energy is generated by nuclear fusion in the sun"s hot, dense, high-pressure core. However, the energy generated is ultimately radiated away from the sun"s surface, nearly 700,000 kilometers away (a distance equal to 17 times the earth"s circumference). How is the energy transported from the core to the surface: there are three fundamental ways of transporting energy from hot regions to cooler regions: Conduction: energy is transported by the small-scale random motions of atoms or molecules. One atom jostles the atom next to it, which in turn jostles the next atom, which in turn jostles the next atom. Conduction works best in opaque solids (metals are particularly good heat conductors, which is why pots and pans are made of metal).