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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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N C More
Skeptic Friend
53 Posts |
 Posted - 08/10/2004 : 09:16:30 [Permalink]
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I'm not good at math (but that's ok, I'm married to an engineer who is) so I can't address that part. However, Dr. Plait (AKA The Bad Astronomer) had this to say regarding the amount of "shrinkage" the sun has suffered in the past billion years:
quote:
The total mass converted to energy is a whopping 2 billion kilograms (4.4 billion pounds) every second! But, the Sun has a total of 2 x 1030 kilograms of mass, or a trillion billion times as much as it converts to energy every second. So compared to its entire mass, the Sun isn't losing much that way! Even over the past billion years, it only lost about one one-hundred-thousandth of its total mass! This is such a small amount we can safely ignore it.
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"An open mind is like an open window...without a good screen you'll get some really weird bugs!" |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Baza
New Member
United Kingdom
47 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2004 : 11:04:49 [Permalink]
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| As I understand it the Suns apparent volume is a balance between the energy produced pushing the apparent volume outwards and the force of gravity pulling it back. Eventually as the fuel is expended the apparent volume will increase (a red giant) as the gravitational force (due to mass) reduces. |
Baza |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2004 : 14:32:48 [Permalink]
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| I hardly think that Boyle's Law is applicable on the Sun, since it is not homogenous. There are various layers of matter with different density, pressure and temperature. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2004 : 12:47:08 [Permalink]
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| correct, the size is determined by the percentage of hydrogen and total mass. That and its not shrinking we need to worry about. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2004 : 22:17:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
correct, the size is determined by the percentage of hydrogen and total mass.
Perhaps you would care to expand on that thought? It runs contrary to what I know about stars.
quote:
That and its not shrinking we need to worry about.
Indeed. I have vague recollection of the Sun expanding 30% from 4bya until now. It will probably expand ~30% more the next 4 billion years until it burns out it's hydrogen, then it will blow up to a red giant. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2004 : 05:58:58 [Permalink]
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I apologise my statement was lame. So heres another...
I was just trying to point out that the size of a star depends on its mass and type of fuel it is burning. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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