Expert: Philip Stahl - 4/7/2007

Question
In the movie  Sunshine, various astronauts are to deliver a payload of nuclear weaponry the size of Manhattan Island into a side of the Sun in order to help stop it dying. Is there even a remote chance of the Sun being even mildly affected by such a huge payload. I wouldn't think so, given the Sun's enormous size etc. What's your view on this, please?
Thanks
Geoff

Answer
Hello,

My view is that the premise is palpable nonsense, especially given that the Sun loses an estimated *4 billion tons* a second merely in the process of mass to energy conversion via nuclear fusion. (e.g. E = mc^2)

Further, igniting such a "payload" even if immense, near the surface of the Sun will not do anything in terms of prolonging the *core nuclear reactions* needed for proton fusion.

Even if this payload were directed to the solar core or interior, it would not traverse more than about 50 km (if that) before being incinerated in the outer radiative zone - where it won't do much good.

The only way to keep a star like the Sun from "dying", indeed, would be to assimilate at least half its mass (~ 10^30 kg) of pure hydrogen and inject it directly into the solar core where fusion can occur at temps. of ~ 14 million C.

There is no feasible technological way of making this happen. But it looks like it can surely occur in scifi movies!