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Riptide
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Hello again everyone, Physics Noob is back again.
I had a question about solar formation that has me stumped. If you hadn't read my previous post, I am a newcomer and hobbist of physics so don't expect me to know everything or equations on physics. Again, I may come off sounding like an idiot, but I'm going to ask anyways and see if I can get a response.
If you look at the traditional formation of planets in our solar system, they always teach you that the rocky planets are in close proximity to the sun, while the gaseous planets are further out. Something has me stumped about this whole set up. Sure, it make sense that the heavier elements fall to the 'bottom' of gravity. Silicon, Iron, Lead; all here on Earth, but I would guess even rarer on Jupiter. The lighter elements are out further while the heavier elements remained within. With a simple experiment you can do at home, put a bunch of objects of varying weight, shake them around for a bit, and see which ones come out on top and on the bottom. It's not the planets I have a problem with though, it's our sun. EVERYTHING I have either watched or read has said that the Sun is (primarily) composed of Hydrogen. Hydrogen, the lightest element out of everything. So, during the formation of our solar system, this gas started to coalece around what? I would have to guess heavy elements, but that does not seem to be what traditional astonomy would teach us. I watched a program on the discovery channel the other day that described a star's death. In it, they stated that once a star starts fusing to iron, it destroys the star. I do not understand how a star can not have iron in it to begin with. If Earth has so much iron on it, wouldn't the sun (that contains the majority of mass in our solar system) have much more iron than the Earth? I would think that when the solar system was forming, before the sun had started fusion, most of the heavy elements would be drawn to the center of mass and sorted out like a giant spinning centrifuge. I am not claiming to know anything here, I am really just looking for answers. Sorry to ramble on a bit, but if anyone would be able to help me out, it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.
I had a question about solar formation that has me stumped. If you hadn't read my previous post, I am a newcomer and hobbist of physics so don't expect me to know everything or equations on physics. Again, I may come off sounding like an idiot, but I'm going to ask anyways and see if I can get a response.
If you look at the traditional formation of planets in our solar system, they always teach you that the rocky planets are in close proximity to the sun, while the gaseous planets are further out. Something has me stumped about this whole set up. Sure, it make sense that the heavier elements fall to the 'bottom' of gravity. Silicon, Iron, Lead; all here on Earth, but I would guess even rarer on Jupiter. The lighter elements are out further while the heavier elements remained within. With a simple experiment you can do at home, put a bunch of objects of varying weight, shake them around for a bit, and see which ones come out on top and on the bottom. It's not the planets I have a problem with though, it's our sun. EVERYTHING I have either watched or read has said that the Sun is (primarily) composed of Hydrogen. Hydrogen, the lightest element out of everything. So, during the formation of our solar system, this gas started to coalece around what? I would have to guess heavy elements, but that does not seem to be what traditional astonomy would teach us. I watched a program on the discovery channel the other day that described a star's death. In it, they stated that once a star starts fusing to iron, it destroys the star. I do not understand how a star can not have iron in it to begin with. If Earth has so much iron on it, wouldn't the sun (that contains the majority of mass in our solar system) have much more iron than the Earth? I would think that when the solar system was forming, before the sun had started fusion, most of the heavy elements would be drawn to the center of mass and sorted out like a giant spinning centrifuge. I am not claiming to know anything here, I am really just looking for answers. Sorry to ramble on a bit, but if anyone would be able to help me out, it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.