'Coronal Heating' Could Be Explained by Solar Gravitation

The fact that the solar corona has a temperature of a few million
degrees has puzzled solar physicists for a long time, considering the
comparatively low temperature of about 6000 K at the sun's apparent
surface (the photosphere). Clearly, the laws of thermodynamics seem to
rule out that a cool gas volume (the photosphere) should be able to
heat another gas volume (the corona) to a temperature of almost 1000
times it's own. Various elaborate plasma processes have been proposed
that would enable charged particles in the photosphere to be
accelerated to such high temperatures, but all these can still not
explain how unordered thermal energy of many particles should be
transformed into ordered high energy of a few particles.
However, in the course of the 'coronal heating' discussion it has
apparently not been recognized that a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy), whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.
The further discussion involves a number of mathematical formulae as
well as illustrative figures (see my page
http://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/research/sun.htm for this).

Thomas Smid wrote:

Various elaborate plasma processes have been proposed
that would enable charged particles in the photosphere to be
accelerated to such high temperatures, but all these can still not
explain how unordered thermal energy of many particles should be
transformed into ordered high energy of a few particles.

That's because they don't *say* that, silly. The coronal
heating in these theories is from energy that is initially
not thermalized (magnetic energy, macroscopic fluid kinetic
energy.)

Paul

Thomas Smid wrote:

Various elaborate plasma processes have been proposed
that would enable charged particles in the photosphere to be
accelerated to such high temperatures, but all these can still not
explain how unordered thermal energy of many particles should be
transformed into ordered high energy of a few particles.

That's because they don't *say* that, silly. The coronal
heating in these theories is from energy that is initially
not thermalized (magnetic energy, macroscopic fluid kinetic
energy.)

Paul

(Thomas Smid) writes:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
NOTE: http://www.crank.net/ gives http://www.physicsmyths.org.uk/
its worst possible rating of "CRANKIEST" in the following seven categories:
Physics, Big Bang, Cosmology, Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics,
Relativity, and Thermodynamics, and summarizes this website as
representing "A long, long list of extremely broken physics."
The is hardly a page at Smid's website that is not merely wrong,
but "not even wrong" --- i.e., utterly incoherent nonsense.


The fact that the solar corona has a temperature of a few million
degrees has puzzled solar physicists for a long time, considering the
comparatively low temperature of about 6000 K at the sun's apparent
surface (the photosphere). Clearly, the laws of thermodynamics seem to
rule out that a cool gas volume (the photosphere) should be able to
heat another gas volume (the corona) to a temperature of almost 1000
times it's own.

Only if the heating is done by simple thermal conduction. However,
there are many other possible heating mechanisms --- acoustic and
electrodynamic heating being two likely possibilities. By your false logic,
a cool electrical cord cannot heat an electrical resistor to several
thousand degrees either, so by your false logic, electric lightbulbs
can't work --- yet they clearly do, so your claim clearly stands falsified.


Various elaborate plasma processes have been proposed that would enable
charged particles in the photosphere to be accelerated to such high
temperatures,

Not so "elaborate." The two front runners are simple acoustic heating
and electrodynamic heating. The former is quite simple and natural:
When a sound wave propagates upward into more rarefied layers, its
amplitude must necessarily increase to conserve energy until eventually
the wave motion becomes nonlinear and "breaks," generating heat.
The latter mechanism results from "magnetic reconnection" --- the exact
same mechanism that is observed to power solar flares. Recent observation
has provided strong support for the electrodynamic mechanism, occuring
in the "magnetic arcade" regions near sunspots. See:

http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/www_solar/publications/393545a0_r.pdf
http://www-solar.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~mhd03/TALKS/SAntiochos.pdf


but all these can still not explain how unordered thermal energy of many
particles should be transformed into ordered high energy of a few
particles.

That's because it isn't "unordered thermal energy" --- it's most likely
acoustic or electrical energy. Nor is it "ordered high energy of a few
particles," since the observational evidence indicates that the corona
is fairly well thermalized. So both halves of your claim stand falsified.


However, in the course of the 'coronal heating' discussion it has
apparently not been recognized that a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy), whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

Only for particles falling in from "infinity." Since we infact observe many
orders of magnitude more particles _LEAVING_ the Sun than falling into it,
unless you are going to postulate some sort of "invisible" incoming
particle flux, your hypothesis clearly stands falsified by observational
data, unless you intend to postulate some sort of in flux of "invisible"
particles heating the corona.


-- Gordon D. Pusch

perl -e '$_ = \n"; s/NO\.//; s/SPAM\.//; print;'

(Thomas Smid) writes:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
NOTE: http://www.crank.net/ gives http://www.physicsmyths.org.uk/
its worst possible rating of "CRANKIEST" in the following seven categories:
Physics, Big Bang, Cosmology, Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics,
Relativity, and Thermodynamics, and summarizes this website as
representing "A long, long list of extremely broken physics."
The is hardly a page at Smid's website that is not merely wrong,
but "not even wrong" --- i.e., utterly incoherent nonsense.


The fact that the solar corona has a temperature of a few million
degrees has puzzled solar physicists for a long time, considering the
comparatively low temperature of about 6000 K at the sun's apparent
surface (the photosphere). Clearly, the laws of thermodynamics seem to
rule out that a cool gas volume (the photosphere) should be able to
heat another gas volume (the corona) to a temperature of almost 1000
times it's own.

Only if the heating is done by simple thermal conduction. However,
there are many other possible heating mechanisms --- acoustic and
electrodynamic heating being two likely possibilities. By your false logic,
a cool electrical cord cannot heat an electrical resistor to several
thousand degrees either, so by your false logic, electric lightbulbs
can't work --- yet they clearly do, so your claim clearly stands falsified.


Various elaborate plasma processes have been proposed that would enable
charged particles in the photosphere to be accelerated to such high
temperatures,

Not so "elaborate." The two front runners are simple acoustic heating
and electrodynamic heating. The former is quite simple and natural:
When a sound wave propagates upward into more rarefied layers, its
amplitude must necessarily increase to conserve energy until eventually
the wave motion becomes nonlinear and "breaks," generating heat.
The latter mechanism results from "magnetic reconnection" --- the exact
same mechanism that is observed to power solar flares. Recent observation
has provided strong support for the electrodynamic mechanism, occuring
in the "magnetic arcade" regions near sunspots. See:

http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/www_solar/publications/393545a0_r.pdf
http://www-solar.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~mhd03/TALKS/SAntiochos.pdf


but all these can still not explain how unordered thermal energy of many
particles should be transformed into ordered high energy of a few
particles.

That's because it isn't "unordered thermal energy" --- it's most likely
acoustic or electrical energy. Nor is it "ordered high energy of a few
particles," since the observational evidence indicates that the corona
is fairly well thermalized. So both halves of your claim stand falsified.


However, in the course of the 'coronal heating' discussion it has
apparently not been recognized that a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy), whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

Only for particles falling in from "infinity." Since we infact observe many
orders of magnitude more particles _LEAVING_ the Sun than falling into it,
unless you are going to postulate some sort of "invisible" incoming
particle flux, your hypothesis clearly stands falsified by observational
data, unless you intend to postulate some sort of in flux of "invisible"
particles heating the corona.


-- Gordon D. Pusch

perl -e '$_ = \n"; s/NO\.//; s/SPAM\.//; print;'

Thomas Smid wrote:
a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy)

Well I wouldn't say one temperature is "natural" and the other "abnormal",
but the Corona has a temperature higher than its binding energy, so it
escapes as the solar wind. The photosphere does not.

, whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

You are asking why the photosphere, with hotter layers above and below,
stays cool? The corona is sparse and transparent, so the photosphere can
radiate heat into space.

In other words, the Sun shines!

I don't think this fact has *completely* escaped the attention of solar
physicists.

Ralph Hartley

Thomas Smid wrote:
a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy)

Well I wouldn't say one temperature is "natural" and the other "abnormal",
but the Corona has a temperature higher than its binding energy, so it
escapes as the solar wind. The photosphere does not.

, whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

You are asking why the photosphere, with hotter layers above and below,
stays cool? The corona is sparse and transparent, so the photosphere can
radiate heat into space.

In other words, the Sun shines!

I don't think this fact has *completely* escaped the attention of solar
physicists.

Ralph Hartley

(Gordon D. Pusch) wrote in message ...
(Thomas Smid) writes:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
However, in the course of the 'coronal heating' discussion it has
apparently not been recognized that a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy), whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

Only for particles falling in from "infinity." Since we infact observe many
orders of magnitude more particles _LEAVING_ the Sun than falling into it,
unless you are going to postulate some sort of "invisible" incoming
particle flux, your hypothesis clearly stands falsified by observational
data, unless you intend to postulate some sort of in flux of "invisible"
particles heating the corona.


-- Gordon D. Pusch


I am afraid according to the virial theorem it is completely
irrelevant where the particles come from. The fact that the kinetic
energy has to be -1/2 of the potential gravitational energy merely
requires a steady state (read my page
http://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/research/sun.htm for more details).

(Gordon D. Pusch) wrote in message ...
(Thomas Smid) writes:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
However, in the course of the 'coronal heating' discussion it has
apparently not been recognized that a temperature of several million
degrees is in fact the 'natural' temperature of the solar plasma (as
determined by the gravitational energy), whereas the photospheric
temperature is the 'abnormal' one.

Only for particles falling in from "infinity." Since we infact observe many
orders of magnitude more particles _LEAVING_ the Sun than falling into it,
unless you are going to postulate some sort of "invisible" incoming
particle flux, your hypothesis clearly stands falsified by observational
data, unless you intend to postulate some sort of in flux of "invisible"
particles heating the corona.


-- Gordon D. Pusch


I am afraid according to the virial theorem it is completely
irrelevant where the particles come from. The fact that the kinetic
energy has to be -1/2 of the potential gravitational energy merely
requires a steady state (read my page
http://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/research/sun.htm for more details).

In message , Thomas Smid
writes

Are you questioning that the sun is a self-gravitating body? (now
*that* would be a case for crank.net). The virial theorem applies to
the sun like for any other structure held together by gravitation.
Even the corona is bound to the sun as you can calculate for yourself
from its temperature and the solar gravitation. Only some high energy
particles escape as the solar wind.

Isn't the solar wind just part of the corona? And what's the average
speed of a hydrogen ion at 10^6K?

--
Save the Hubble Space Telescope!