eli5 How is it that things on earth can be “hotter than the surface of the sun”? If the sun is giving energy to basically everything on earth, wouldn’t any earth-item or organism only be able to mimic a fraction of the sun’s energy/power output?

Question

eli5 How is it that things on earth can be “hotter than the surface of the sun”? If the sun is giving energy to basically everything on earth, wouldn’t any earth-item or organism only be able to mimic a fraction of the sun’s energy/power output?

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Answer 1

You could put a generator in the ocean that uses the ocean currents to create power. Use that power to boil a cup of water which is hotter than the source.

You’re just concentrating immense power to heat a tiny tiny piece.