Station+1+-+sun+&+nuclear+fusion

__**STATION 1: THE SUN**__ The most important source of light is the sun! It is estimated that the sun has been around for 5 billion years and that it will continue for another 5 billion years. The sun creates light and heat through special chemical reactions called NUCLEAR FUSION REACTIONS; 2 Hydrogen atoms fuse to make a Helium atom. **H + H --> He** The Sun is a mass of incandescent gas...um...well, actually it's plasma - a gas made up of atoms that are ions (electrons are free)- it has properties unlike a solid, liquid or a gas. media type="custom" key="4968337"

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Nuclear fusion reactions take place in the core of the sun. The energy is then transferred outward to the photosphere. A TREMENDOUS amount of energy in the form of light and heat is released during fusion reactions. On Earth, we rely on this energy - without it we could not survive!