I need this literally explained like I’m 5, well actually 4. My 4 year old is asking what a “solar flare” is.
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Solar flares aren’t really directly related to fusion. Flares are a surface process on top of the Sun, while fusion occurs in its core.
In literal 4 year old terms, a solar flare is a time when a small part of the Sun’s surface becomes much brighter than the Sun’s surface usually is. That part of the Sun gets much hotter for a moment, and hot things glow brighter.
In adult-trying-to-explain-to-4-year-old terms, a solar flare is a result of the complicated magnetic fields around the Sun. The Sun is made out of plasma, which is similar to a gas in that it’s individual particles flying around, but different in that the electrons and nuclei in the gas are split apart.
Since the particles have their own charges, they respond to the Sun’s magnetic field. But because they’re moving charges, they also *generate* that magnetic field. In general, plasmas under the effect of a magnetic field have very complex behavior as a result. And sometimes, this complex behavior results in a very “tangled” magnetic field that holds a *lot* of potential energy, in a manner similar to a very compressed spring.
As the plasma moves around, though, it can sometimes allow the magnetic field to suddenly relax into a much lower-energy state, transferring all that extra energy into movement of the particles in the plasma. That heats the plasma up to extremely high temperatures, since temperature is just the word we have for “how fast all the particles in something are flying around randomly”. This ultra-hot plasma glows, like all hot objects do, and the glow is particularly intense because the intensity of a glow depends strongly on temperature.
The fast-moving particles can also usually escape the Sun, which is why flares are associated with *mass ejections* where the Sun fires off a chunk of hot plasma. But not all flares result in mass ejections.
The sun is really, really big. It has a lot of mass. Gravity pulls stuff with mass together. With all that mass, the gravity inside is big enough to squish the hydrogen atoms together into helium. This is nuclear fusion and creates a lot of energy. The energy from this fusion pushes outward, contending with the force of gravity trying to pull everything inward.
The sun is really, really big. It has a lot of mass. Gravity pulls stuff with mass together. With all that mass, the gravity inside is big enough to squish the hydrogen atoms together into helium. This is nuclear fusion and creates a lot of energy. The energy from this fusion pushes outward, contending with the force of gravity trying to pull everything inward.
Solar flares aren’t really directly related to fusion. Flares are a surface process on top of the Sun, while fusion occurs in its core.
In literal 4 year old terms, a solar flare is a time when a small part of the Sun’s surface becomes much brighter than the Sun’s surface usually is. That part of the Sun gets much hotter for a moment, and hot things glow brighter.
In adult-trying-to-explain-to-4-year-old terms, a solar flare is a result of the complicated magnetic fields around the Sun. The Sun is made out of plasma, which is similar to a gas in that it’s individual particles flying around, but different in that the electrons and nuclei in the gas are split apart.
Since the particles have their own charges, they respond to the Sun’s magnetic field. But because they’re moving charges, they also *generate* that magnetic field. In general, plasmas under the effect of a magnetic field have very complex behavior as a result. And sometimes, this complex behavior results in a very “tangled” magnetic field that holds a *lot* of potential energy, in a manner similar to a very compressed spring.
As the plasma moves around, though, it can sometimes allow the magnetic field to suddenly relax into a much lower-energy state, transferring all that extra energy into movement of the particles in the plasma. That heats the plasma up to extremely high temperatures, since temperature is just the word we have for “how fast all the particles in something are flying around randomly”. This ultra-hot plasma glows, like all hot objects do, and the glow is particularly intense because the intensity of a glow depends strongly on temperature.
The fast-moving particles can also usually escape the Sun, which is why flares are associated with *mass ejections* where the Sun fires off a chunk of hot plasma. But not all flares result in mass ejections.
Fusion is the combining 2 atoms together. The sun is fusing helium into hydrogen. This let’s off an enormous amount of energy as the bonds that hold the singular 3 helium atoms together is very strong. The reason why the sun can do this is because how massive it is and how much gravity it has.
Sorry I’m not sure how to describe a Solar flare though.
Fusion is the combining 2 atoms together. The sun is fusing helium into hydrogen. This let’s off an enormous amount of energy as the bonds that hold the singular 3 helium atoms together is very strong. The reason why the sun can do this is because how massive it is and how much gravity it has.
Sorry I’m not sure how to describe a Solar flare though.
A solar flare is when some place on the Sun starts shining brighter than the rest of it. This usually also means that the Sun shoots stuff into space that makes our sky burn for a while and we get northern lights.
A solar flare is when some place on the Sun starts shining brighter than the rest of it. This usually also means that the Sun shoots stuff into space that makes our sky burn for a while and we get northern lights.
Atoms are like same-side magnets. They don’t like to touch. But more-so. If you get enough stuff together, the gravity squeezes so hard that the atoms touch and then become the same atom. All that power that didn’t want them to touch gets released as heat, like a bomb. The light and heat from the sun is because so many of the atoms are constantly fusing into larger atoms.
Because it’s all super-hot, the surface is fluid and swirls about. Hotter bits fly up to the surface and leap out. Kinda like a cannon, because it is an explosion. If they leap high enough, they escape and leave the sun.
Solar flares are bits of the sun flying out of it. They’re usually small, they usually miss Earth, but have the potential to really mess things up.
Atoms are like same-side magnets. They don’t like to touch. But more-so. If you get enough stuff together, the gravity squeezes so hard that the atoms touch and then become the same atom. All that power that didn’t want them to touch gets released as heat, like a bomb. The light and heat from the sun is because so many of the atoms are constantly fusing into larger atoms.
Because it’s all super-hot, the surface is fluid and swirls about. Hotter bits fly up to the surface and leap out. Kinda like a cannon, because it is an explosion. If they leap high enough, they escape and leave the sun.
Solar flares are bits of the sun flying out of it. They’re usually small, they usually miss Earth, but have the potential to really mess things up.
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