Apr 27, 2005 A little known fact: Popular ideas about the Sun
have not fared well under the tests of a scientific theory. The
formulators of the standard Sun model worked with gravity, gas
laws, and nuclear fusion. But closer observation of the Sun has
shown that electrical and magnetic properties dominate solar
behavior. For centuries, the nature of the Sun’s radiance
remained a mystery to astronomers. The Sun is the only object in
the solar system that produces its own visible light. All others
reflect the light of the Sun. What unique trait of the Sun
enables it to shine upon the other objects in the solar system?
Today, astronomers assure us that the most fundamental question
is answered. The Sun is a thermonuclear furnace. The ball of gas
is so large that astronomers envision pressures and densities
within its core sufficient to generate temperatures of about 16
million K—producing a continuous “controlled” nuclear reaction.
Most astronomers and astrophysicists investigating the Sun are
so convinced of t