I still don't fully understand the concept of the suns energy still.
So let's fast forward, a suns energy, emitting rays of light, does it just fade into nothing or does it always exist? So if I use the classical example of if I had A telescope big enough and hyptothetically could travel infinite space, I could always find the rays of light the sun emitted at some point? So does therefore everything everywhere is already eternal in nature? Some energy and light is always lost though? But is that energy lost forever? Or does it just float around in outer space for all eternity?
I don't know how to word what I am trying to ask. I think I may have just confused myself, so yes, nevermind I suppose.
edit: a flashlight can only emit so far, so the suns rays only go so far in billion trillion lightyears too... then it fades, but where does that energy go? is some of it lost? what happens to a light from a flashlight? does the light particles just fade into nothing? or are they still something? this is probably very basic to most people, I just don't get it.
You've touched on some interesting points and I'm going to come back to them later tonight. Kinda busy right now.
Ok, here we go.
I still don't fully understand the concept of the suns energy still.
Nuclear Fusion. This involves Hydrogen atoms being smashed together to form Helium, Helium & Hydrogen atoms being smashed together to form Lithium and so on. In the core of the Sun the temperature is 10million degrees+ and with all the pressure and gravity, fusion takes place. The fusion reactions themselves add to the heat and electromagnetic radiation already present. This is how the fusion phase of the Sun started 4.5Billion years ago. It's a lot of energy being released. Matter is so densely packed in that energy, heat and light takes 40,000 to 50,000 years bouncing around inside to reach the surface of the Sun then shoot out into the Universe in all directions.
So let's fast forward, a suns energy, emitting rays of light, does it just fade into nothing or does it always exist?
That depends on the emission in question.
Neutrinos, one of the more exotic forms of matter created in a fusion reaction, do not interact with baryonic matter and just pass through everything without slowing down or interacting with gravity much. Harmless.
Photons(which includes visible light) proceed until they interact with something. Mostly harmless.
Ionic radiation(atoms without a Neutron or Electron) do much the same but interact differently. Very dangerous.
Neutron radiation(free Neutrons not a part of an atom) general only stop in dense matter, such as lead. Also very dangerous.
There are more, but you get the idea. The Sun emits all of these on a constant basis. Some of those emissions will be stopped by entropy as they have a relatively large mass(but that takes hundreds of trillions of years). Neutrinos never stop unless they directly cross paths(read directly contact) a Black Hole object. Extremely rare. Photons never stop until they cross paths with any baryonic matter(dust, asteroids, planets, other stars, etc). More common but still very rare relatively speaking. Ionic radiation and Neutron radiation are the types that will slow down and lose energy as they interact with matter and gravity wells.
So if I use the classical example of if I had A telescope big enough and hyptothetically could travel infinite space, I could always find the rays of light the sun emitted at some point?
No. The Sun, as a star, has only existed for approx 4.5 to 5 billion years. So if you could track emissions from the Sun, you would only reach that distance in light years(4.5 to 5 billion light years) and have emissions to observe. Otherwise, you would see nothing but the emissions from the rest of the MilkyWay galaxy.
So does therefore everything everywhere is already eternal in nature?
No. There are finite cycle spans for all matter/energy functions that exist in the Universe. Some of them are very short, such as the lifespan of a common house fly(measured in days), and some of them are VERY long, such as the nominal fusion cycle of a Red Dwarf star(measured in tens of trillions of years). However, everything in the Universe has a cycle, none of them are infinite, as we currently understand physics.
Some energy and light is always lost though? But is that energy lost forever? Or does it just float around in outer space for all eternity?
It is always transformed, not lost. Science currently has no model to predict how long the cyclical patterns of the Universe will last, though the idea is being worked on. We are limited by the technology of our time, an ever present fact that drives us scientists bonkers ALOT!
I don't know how to word what I am trying to ask. I think I may have just confused myself, so yes, nevermind I suppose.
Not at all. You are someone who ponders the Universe and these are natural questions to be asking. You remind me of myself in years past.
edit: a flashlight can only emit so far, so the suns rays only go so far in billion trillion lightyears too... then it fades, but where does that energy go?
OOoo! Excellent thought experiment! Ok. The photons from flash light are just as strong as the photons from the Sun. The reason a flash light looses it's apparent brightness over distance is because of the intensity of the emissions. A flash light emits FAR fewer photons at any one moment then that of the Sun. And by design, a flashlight spreads it's light out in an arc to provide more illumination for the immediate area. Go 50 miles away and if you can still see the flashlight, it's very dim. This is because most of the photons have either spread out over the distance or have interacted with the atoms of the atmosphere and have been scattered. A laser's light can travel farther because it's photons more focused in a narrow beam. But again, in an atmosphere, the further you go, the more dim that laser light will be. In the vacuum of space where no atmospheric interaction takes place, photons will continue on their way in a more or less straight line(gravity still affects the trajectory of light photons) until it hits and object. Yet the farther you go, the more sensitive you observation equipment will need to be to observe said flashlight. This is because of the light still spreading out in the designed arc. And even though space is mostly a vacuum, it is not empty. There are still trace amounts of gas and dust floating around between the planets, the start and even between galaxies. So the farther you go away from that flashlight, the unlikely you are to interact with it's very much of it's light emissions. Go 25% of a year away and it is unlikely you will observe more that a dozen photons that originated from the flashlight.
this is probably very basic to most people, I just don't get it.
Not really. You are touching on some advanced and complex physics. You are not only asking the right questions, but you are asking them generally in the right order. Based in this, I would say you have a mind for critical thinking and science. If you're not already, you might want to give thought into a higher education focused on a field of science that interests you. I urge you to explore that aspect of yourself.
.
