Fact

The Sun should not be able to burn, and quantum mechanics lets it

The core is too cold for fusion. It happens anyway, by cheating.

1 min read

Protons repel each other, and the Sun’s core temperature is not high enough to force them together by classical physics. Fusion proceeds because particles can tunnel through the energy barrier – a quantum effect with no classical analogue. Without tunnelling, stars would not shine and none of this would be here.

Leave a thought

Your email address is not published.