If there is no oxygen in space..Why is it the sun continues to burn?

Question

And i know the process of nuclear fusion...isn't the same as burning a piece of paper on earth. yes the sun is a big whole ball of gas...

but umm..explain why it dosent need oxygen.

Answer 1

Yep, nuclear fusion isn't like "burning" and doesn't require oxygen, cause it's helium and hydrogen that does the nuclear fusion "reaction" thing and the resulting energy produced by this reaction is the energy releaced by the sun.  

You're totally correct the sun is a big (only it's not the biggest "thing" is space) ball of gas and it will only get bigger!  However, right now it's doing it's "reaction" thing, and doing it very well, without oxygen.  The main reason it doesn't require oxygen, is that it seems to be doing quite well with just the helium and hydrogen reactions.  I say, "Leave it alone, to do it's "reaction" thing"!  And we'll get all the "rays" released!  Good ones (the heat) and bad ones (gamma rays and xrays that are bad for ones dna).    

Answer 2

You answered your own question there, bud.

The 'flames' that we see are superheated gas...but they aren't 'burning' in the same way that a piece of paper burns.  They are heated through a nuclear reaction, which requires no oxygen.

Answer 3

Fusion is not burning. It's fusing atoms together. Not burning. So no oxygen is needed for combustion. The sun does not burn. If it was burning, it would have exhausted it's mass long along.

Did I mention it's not burning?

Answer 4

the sun is not burning, it is just releasing heat in the form of light radiation as the result of the nuclear fusion process. ergo, oxygen is not needed to perform the fusion with an ample amount of hydrogen atoms to do the task.  

Answer 5

When paper burns, it's a chemical reaction.  Hydrocarbon combines with oxygen, and the result is a different molocule that requires less binding energy to hold it together.  The excess energy is released in the form of light and heat.  

Nuclear fusion is similar except that it involves protons and neutrons instead of electrons, as with chemical reactions.  Instead of molocules recombining, atoms themselves recombine.  Hydrogen atoms combine to form helium, which has a lower nuclear binding energy requirment, releasing the excess energy.

Both types of reactions require some energy to initiate, but release more energy than what they started with.  Nuclear energy is more powerful than chemical energy because the atomic nucleus contains more energy that what the electrons have.  Hydrocarbons require oxygen to burn because plants store energy from the sun as hydrocarbons, and discard the oxygen.  When they're recombined again, the stored energy is released.

Answer 6

You've already had fusion mentioned.

One of the problems we have in science it that we use language in a way that can be confusing.

When we talk about hydrogen burning we really mean hydrogen fusion.

On earth, the burning you are familiar with is indeed a chemical reaction with oxygen.

What happens in stars is not a chemical reaction it is a nuclear reaction!

In a chemical reaction, atoms combine to to form molecules and thus it is at the level of the electrons in the atom.

In a nuclear reaction the nuclei (i.e. the neutrons and protons) combine and make new nuclei (i.e. a new element).

So in the sun hydrogen nuclei (which are just protons) combine. Some of them convert into neutron by radioactive decay and we get helium nuclei. In the process they release energy.

As has been said above - ITS NOT BURNING!

Oxygen is not really involved (not in the sun - anyway)

ADDED: I don't see any harsh comments - just honest answers. It is not uncommon for people to mis-understand the term "burning" as applied to stars, so I don;t think any of the answers are meant to be condenscending - just direct - we want you to understand - no oxygen needed!