10.5: How the Sun Works
The sun does not burn
. The belief that the sun does burn is a misconception. In stars the size of the sun or smaller, the fusion process is referred to as the
proton-proton cycle
or
proton-proton chain reaction
. The general steps to the Proton-proton cycle include:
- It takes about 100,000 years for that energy to get from the sun’s core to the photosphere.