
Overview
The Sun is huge. It's bigger than huge. It's so big that 1.3 million Earths would fit inside a hollowed-out Sun. It's really far away, too - about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) Even at that distance the Sun affects everything on Earth. All the energy we have comes, or once came from, the Sun. That includes energy to light a lamp, energy to kick a soccer ball, and energy in batteries that play your personal stereo. We're talking about nearly all of the energy. There's a little bit of energy that comes from nuclear reactions deep in the Earth's core. But that energy pales compared with the nuclear fusion fueling the Sun. Without the Sun, the Earth would be a big hunk of rock with nearly nothing on it. The Sun is made of gas. It has so much gravity that it's atoms are smashed into hot gas. In the sun, atoms of gas are constantly crashing into each other. When they collide, they form new atoms and release energy. Scientists call this atom smashing "nuclear fus
-
2 - 1Magnetism February 18, 1994
-
2 - 2Wind February 25, 1994
-
2 - 3Blood & Circulation March 04, 1994
-
2 - 4Chemical Reactions March 11, 1994
-
2 - 5Static Electricity March 18, 1994
-
2 - 6Food Web March 25, 1994
-
2 - 7Light Optics September 10, 1994
-
2 - 8Bones & Muscles September 17, 1994
-
2 - 9Oceanography September 24, 1994
-
2 - 10Heat October 01, 1994
-
2 - 11Insects October 08, 1994
-
2 - 12Balance October 15, 1994
-
2 - 13The Sun October 22, 1994
-
2 - 14Brain October 29, 1994
-
2 - 15Forests November 05, 1994
-
2 - 16Communication November 12, 1994
-
2 - 17Momentum November 19, 1994
-
2 - 18Reptiles November 26, 1994
-
2 - 19Atmosphere December 03, 1994
-
2 - 20Respiration January 07, 1995