If the sun does explode in the far future, what would make it explode?
In: Physics
The sun is constantly exploding nuclear bombs by fusing hydrogen atoms together to form helium. The large size of the sun causes intense pressures and heat due to gravity at the sun’s core, driving these reactions.
When the sun eventually runs out of hydrogen to fuse, it will start fusing the helium products into carbon and oxygen. This reaction releases more energy than the previous hydrogen reaction, causing the overall size of the sun to expand due to the energy release. This generates a red giant.
Once the helium is all gone, the later reactions are not as powerful and eventually the energy released cannot balance out against gravity. This causes a sudden collapse in the star as gravity pulls it together. In some cases, this single rapid shrinking grants enough energy for one last fusion explosion: a supernova. Supernovas can fuse atoms into various other atoms, providing the building blocks for planets.
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