AS102 Study Guide - Final Guide: Chromosphere, Radiography, Convection Zone
Document Summary
The first layer beneath the surface is the convection zone, a turbulent region of churning, rolling gas created by rising hot gas and falling cooler gas (about 250,000. This part of the sun"s interior is not greatly discussed in your textbook other than mentioned at the end of section. About 1/3 of the way between the surface and the centre you enter the radiation zone where the photons created by the fusion process work their way out to the surface. The temperature steadily rises to about 10 million k as you encounter an extremely intense shower of x-rays (much more than in the corona). As you enter the core, about of the way to the centre you enter the thermonuclear furnace where fusion takes place in a 15 million k bath with a density. 100 times greater than h2o and a 2 million bar pressure.