© Charles Chandler

 

The original source of the energy that went into the Sun was the momentum of the particles in the collapse of a dusty plasma. The implosion, plus the gravity field from the compressed matter, created hydrostatic pressure sufficient for electron degeneracy pressure, wherein charges are separated, thus converting the energy to electrostatic potentials. The electric force between charged double-layers pulls them together, even if electron degeneracy pressure prohibits recombination. Futher compacting the matter increases the density of the gravity field. Thus the equilibrium that was finally achieved is a very dense by-product of a force feedback loop involving electric and gravity fields.

 

With the primary energy store being electrostatic potential, 2/3 of the power output of the Sun is the recombination of opposite charges (i.e., electrostatic discharges), while 1/3 of the power output is from nuclear fusion within the discharge channels.

 

The prime mover in the energy release, and a source of heat in its own right, is charge recombination due to equatorial s-waves 120 Mm below the surface. The output is constrained by positive and negative feedback loops. The release of heat at the crest of the wave pushes down the next trough, and accelerates the wave, but destructive interference attenuates the wave heights, resulting in a steady output, though the feedback loop oscillates in an 11.2 year cycle. The s-waves also create differential rotation. The main implication is that magnetic field lines close just outside the equatorial band, and with the field normal to the surface, Birkeland currents can stream outward without magnetic braking. The current density can become great enough for organized electrodynamic effects such as sunspots.

 

Hence a wide variety of data have been taken into account, without finding reason to abandon this mechanistic approach. After all, the Sun is a physical object, so somewhere out there, we ought to be able to find a physical description of it. This search has yielded interesting and potentially valuable results.

 

This is not to ignore the economy of mathematical simplifications. But math should not preclude physics. As our knowledge increases, it becomes possible to make the transition from heuristics to mechanics. In so doing, we gain the ability to anticipate new discoveries. Phenomenology is OK for assimilating existing datasets, and for presenting them in a way that seems to make sense. But when we come to understand the physical forces responsible for the phenomena, we know where to look for new types of data that might be even more valuable.