NATS 1740 Study Guide - Solar Neutrino Problem, Nuclear Fusion, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

• School: York University
• Department: Natural Science
• Course: NATS 1740
• Professor: Patrick Hall

Document Summary

Nuclear fusion high temperature enables nuclear fusion to happen in the core of the sun; high density ensures it happens often enough to power the. Proton-proton chain the proton-proton chain is how hydrogen fuses into helium in sun: out: 1 4he nucleus, 2 neutrinos, 2 gamma rays, 2 positrons (which collide with 2. In: 4 protons electrons, making more gamma rays: total mass is 0. 7% lower (4 million tons of matter converted to energy every second inside the sun!) Solar thermostat decline (rise) in core temperature causes fusion rate to drop (rise), so core contracts (expands) and heats up (cools down). Solar neutrino problem: early searches for solar neutrinos failed to find the predicted number, more recent observations with the sudbury neutrino observatory in northern ontario found the right number of neutrinos.