Is Iron Causing All the Flares?

Universe Today ^ | 11/18/03

[r9etb]

If the solar flare was comprised of iron, don't ya think we would know? Or at least be suspicious. Or have some data to indicate iron content, or something?

You misread. The theory is that the magnetic forces that create solar flares are driven by an iron core -- not that the flare itself is made of iron.

[r9etb]

IMO he could have been more productive with his time.

You don't even know whether he's right or wrong.

[Arkinsaw]

This is interesting, another physicist who appears to share his view.

http://www.npaci.edu/online/v5.7/rouse.html

[Justa]

If it did supernova then where'd all its hydrogen come from?

[PatrickHenry]

Thanks for the ping.

[frodolives]

All I know is the iron is my favorite Monopoly token.

[Arkinsaw]

You don't even know whether he's right or wrong.

I have no clue whether he is right, wrong, on track, or off the deep end. But there seems to be a bit of "Blasphemy!", "Heretic!" type reaction going on here.

[PatrickHenry]

A supernova collapsing back on itself and burning once again -- at least by all outward appearances -- as a normal star would. And to be in a stable state long enough for intelligent life to evolve on one of its inner planets, all maintained for the most part by the residual heat of the neutron star at its core.

That seems to summarize it. It's not the ordinary stellar history. And at what part of the sun is fusion happening? Presumably not in the iron core. If it's what we assume, hydrogen-into-helium fusion, how did all that hydrogen survive the supernova explosion and remain behind to ignite the burned-out remains of the nova?

[RightWhale]

You don't even know whether he's right or wrong.

It doesn't matter.

[Cold Heat]

You misread.

Not really, just mis-stated. I am not a friggin scientist.

If the flare was initiated by a iron cored sun, then their would be some evidence of iron someplace, somewhwere.

If, this theory is true then all suns must be similar and all solar systems would be iron based.

We just don't se any evidence of that, but what we do see is that hydrogen appears to be a major building block of stars.

We don't see iron as a sun core because it's gravity and mass as measured and known to us, do not reflect this fact.

I have never heard of this theory until now. It appears to be very unusual on it's face.

I will defer to the experts to blow holes in it.

[gitmo]

Should be fairly easy to test. Fly a big horseshoe magnet by and see if the sun moves.

[Cold Heat]

I know is the iron is my favorite Monopoly token.

LOL, I always get the thimble.

[RightWhale]

That's a whole different thing. It's not easy to get computer time. But if you have funding from outside sources, well, that's the point of research institutes, you may develop models even if they burn a few milliseconds of CPU time. In fact, one should as a basic norm.

[RightWhale]

there would be some evidence of iron someplace

One would think so. Maybe some of these X-class solar flares would have particles besides protons and electrons. Maybe an iron nucleus would come our way now and then. But, maybe 10 million degrees isn't hot enough to blast such a heavy nucleus off the core.

[LibWhacker]

And at what part of the sun is fusion happening?

"Manuel claims that hydrogen fusion creates some of the sun’s heat, as hydrogen -- the lightest of all elements -- moves to the sun’s surface."

There is no iron core in Manuel's theory, but instead a neutron star at the core; i.e., a ball of tightly packed neutrons, 10 miles across, say. No fusion going on in there. Around the neutron star is an iron-rich . . . plasma, I guess. No hydrogen being fused into helium there. No!, the remaining hydrogen, apparently left over from the supernova and pulled back into the sun by gravity is somehow undergoing fusion well away from the core as it floats outward toward the surface of the sun . . . Which stikes me as very odd, because in a ordinary star there is only enough heat and pressure at the very center to fuse hydrogen into helium.

In other words . . . Your guess is as good as mine, LOL!

[MineralMan]

"There is no such thing as iron gas as far as I know. "

As far as you know... Try a Google search for "gaseous iron," then get back to me.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The last issue of "Journal of Fusion Energy" that I have access to online is from December 2002. Of course, that only proves that issues come out late, just like in ordinary journals (or maybe we dropped his subscription). He doesn't appear in the author search so he must have published later than 2002.

[RightWhale]

There is no such thing as iron gas as far as I know

Under your TIG plasma there would be for a short period of time. Then it cools and condenses back onto the cool substrate. Some may escape the inert gas and oxidize almost instantly giving rust gas. There would be a partial pressure of iron just like carbon dioxide, argon, and whatever is in air. That's iron gas, right in your garage or wherever you do steel welding. You probably shouldn't breathe it, and we know you should not breathe zinc. Pure iron gas would need nothing more than temperature, iron boiling point 3000 C--that's gas.

[RightWhale]

Maybe it doesn't publish often or regularly. It's been a year, no need to panic. Stay calm, men, hold your positions.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Iron would be a gas in the hot part of a star (it's all gas, really). See Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar's work. Of course, were there much iron in the Sun in a gaseous state, there should be spectral evidence. Again one is looking at temperatures in the millions of degrees whereas welding and foundry work operate in temperatures of only a few thousand degrees.