I have previously discussed the many problems with our current model of the Sun.
I outlined Jeurgens electric Sun model and how this was adapted by the electric universe.
This explains many of the phenomena in a different way. For some time I have been trying
to understand Pierre Robetaille's Liquid Metallic Hydrogen model. How is this different from the
mainstream model and from the electric sun model? He has numerous videos on sky scholar that makes
a good case for the problems with the current model but none that really explain the full
working of the model. So I decided to dive into his papers and examine his model in some depth.
In this series, I want to recap the main issues with the current model but this by no means
covers the breadth that Robetaille covers in his papers so I would encourage you to read
these as well. I will link these below in the description. A key assumption that underpins
this concept is metallic hydrogen, so I also want to examine the current state of this research.
Finally, I will outline his liquid metallic hydrogen model and discuss my thoughts on it.
We will start in this episode with a look at the main problems with the mainstream model of the Sun
To start of it is worth recapping what the mainstream model is of the Sun. In this model,
the Sun is a ball of hydrogen in a plasma state. Gravity acts to compress the plasma
as we move towards the centre. The object's collapse is halted by the outward radiative
pressure, although it is now realised that this can only work in the largest of stars so smaller
stars, like our own, needed an extra force to halt the collapse, which was electron gas
pressure. This by itself is a rather major problem but let's not digress too far. At the centre,
the pressure and temperature reaches a point that hydrogen is able to fuse, releasing energy
and forming deuterium and then helium. All light we observe from the sun comes from these nuclear
reactions at the centre of the star. These photons would collide with the hydrogen plasma and in the
process lose some of their energy. Consequently, a photon would take millions of years
to make it way towards the surface and in so doing would lose a significant portion of its energy
meaning it ended it with largely visible light photons near the surface.
This is called the photosphere, above this is the chromosphere which is only about 2000km
high and glows faintly red. Above this lies the corona which is visible during solar eclipses.
On the photosphere, we see granulations which in the standard model is described as being
the tops of convection columns. Each is thought to be about 1000km in diameter and come and go
in the space of minutes. Most astronomers are now fairly certain these bright cells
are the tops of columns of hot gases being rapidly transported from the depths to the surface.
As they cool, these columns of hot gases begin to sink. And as an effect of cooling,
they lose their brilliance, appearing dark by contrast to hot ascending columns.
The granules fail to live up to this expectation. True enough observers report rapid upward motions
and the speedy growth and decay of granules. These motions are however very orderly, the growing
cycles are non-violent. These do not qualify as turbulent eruptions you would expect to find.
The temperature of the photosphere is thought to be around 6000K.
This is significantly lower than the temperature at the core of the Sun. As you would expect as we
move further out this temperature is lower but something odd happens as we move away from the
surface of the Sun. At first, this downward trend continues into the Chromosphere but as we move
further and enter the Corona temperatures start to soar to over a million degrees.
This presents a rather awkward problem as the heat could not be coming from inside the Sun.
In order to solve this, they think that the local heating in the corona
occurs as a result of a process involving the flow of ions through the magnetic fields of the Sun.
The Sun also produces what is called the solar wind. It actually comes in two types, the slow
and fast solar wind. It can vary in intensity and sometimes can stop entirely. The ions from
the solar wind actually accelerate away from the Sun, getting faster and faster as they move away.
There are a number of different lines of evidence that Robetaille examines besides the
points mentioned already. One of the main lines of argument is about the emissions from the Sun.
Some of the concepts about the emissions produced by the Sun date back to Eddington. Eddington
realised that if the Sun was a blackbody at millions of degrees it should produce its photons
at X-ray frequencies. At the same time, Langley had measured the solar spectrum and based on this
set the temperature of the photosphere at 6000K. In order to solve the discrepancy between these,
Eddington simply stated that when the photons were emitted they were initially produced at X-ray
frequencies. These photons were then scattered or absorbed in collisions which was associated
with the radiation pressure. Each time some of the energy is lost and the frequency lowers.
Meaning that after millions of years of collisions a photon finally emerges at the surface shifted to
the visible region. Only a small fraction of the photons from the radiative zone are able to escape
at any time. The whole process would result in producing a certain opacity in the solar interior.
It requires that there is proper absorption and reemission of all photons, at all frequencies,
and at all levels of the solar interior. The issue is so complex that they need to often employ
Rosseland mean opacities, which are frequency dependent. This in itself requires that these
profiles continually and systematically change throughout the solar interior,
while still remaining a blackbody in nature and yielding the proper frequency dependence.
These processes all require that the Sun is in thermal equilibrium...
which it is not. Enormous convection currents are present both on the solar surface
and within the solar interior. These would work to violate the integrity of Eddington's layers.
This, therefore, represents a significant deviation of the requirements set forth in
Kirchoff's law - that it be in equilibrium with a perfectly absorbing enclosure.
Modern solar models make extensive use of local thermal equilibrium
in order to simplify the analysis of stellar structures. It is well known
that plasma can support electronic and ionic temperatures which are not in equilibrium.
Another problem is the surface waves which have been observed on the surface of the Sun
in connection with some solar flares. What is remarkable about these waves is that they are
nearly 2 miles high and over the course of an hour travelled a distance equal to 10 Earth diameters
before fading away. Unlike water ripples that travel outwards at a constant velocity,
the solar waves accelerated from an initial speed of 22,000 miles per hour
to a maximum of 250,000 miles per hour before disappearing.
Now there are more points that Robetaille covers
that you can read in his papers which I will link below.
In the next episode, we will explore the current state of solid metallic hydrogen.