Question

The solar corona has a temperature of about \(1 \cdot 10^{6} \mathrm{~K}\). However, a spaceship flying in the corona will not be burned up. Why is this?

Short answer

Answer: A spaceship does not burn up in the solar corona because, despite its high temperature, the particle density in the corona is extremely low. This leads to a significantly reduced heat transfer, meaning that not enough thermal energy is transferred to the spaceship to cause it to burn up.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the terms temperature and heat transfer

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. High temperatures typically correspond to a high average kinetic energy of the particles. Heat transfer, on the other hand, is the process by which thermal energy is transferred from one object or substances to another due to a difference in temperatures.

Describe the solar corona

The solar corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, extending millions of kilometers into space. It has an extremely high temperature of about \(1 \cdot 10^{6}\) K. However, it is also very thin and sparse in terms of particle density, meaning there are very few particles per unit volume.

Relate temperature, heat transfer, and particle density

Heat transfer depends on both temperature and the number of particles involved. In a high-density environment, such as a solid or liquid substance, heat is more easily transferred due to the increased number of particles, leading to a larger amount of thermal energy being transferred. In a low-density environment (like the solar corona), heat transfer is significantly reduced because there are fewer particles present to transfer thermal energy.

Explain why a spaceship does not burn up in the solar corona

Although the solar corona has a very high temperature, its particle density is extremely low. This means that the amount of thermal energy that would be transferred to a spaceship passing through the corona would be relatively insignificant, not enough to cause the spaceship to burn up. The sparse environment of the solar corona simply does not contain enough particles to transfer a significant amount of thermal energy to the spaceship. Therefore, despite the high temperature, a spaceship flying in the solar corona will not be burned up.