SUNLIGHT SOL

The Sun generates its energy by a process known as thermonuclear fusion. This involves fusing hydrogen atoms together. Here is the problem: every astrophysicist will tell you the Sun's gravitational force of compression is too feeble to bring hydrogen atoms deep within its nuclear furnace (which are effectively positively charged protons) close enough together for the strong nuclear force of attraction to take hold. Any astrophysicist worth his salt will seriously inform you of the fact that only stars 5-6 times the mass of the Sun may gravitationally fuse hydrogen atoms in their rough and tumble roiling cores, causing them to ignite and burn in the thermonuclear holocaust known as  Thermonuclear Fusion reaction. A serious astrophysicist who is a classical physicist will let you know sunlight shouldn't even be possible. The Sun's gravitational force is just too enfeebling to push hydrogen atoms, strip down to their positively charged protons, close enough together. That is, fusion-distance closeness, so that they are captured by the nuclear strong force and then ignite in nuclear fusion fire. In order for the Sun's hydrogen atoms to achieve fusion closeness they have to be pushed together to within fusion distances by the Sun's gravity, and every astrophysicist knows that our Sun's core gravitational force of attraction may not overcome the electromagnetic repulsive force between its core protons. Is sunlight, then, a miracle?

If not for the machinations of quantum mechanics the Sun could never have lit up. If not for quantum mechanics with its weak force component, the W⁺ boson, the Sun's existence could only be written off as an impossible miracle:

As you can see in the final reaction, the weak force exchange particle, the W⁺ boson, transforms the positively charged proton, p⁺, into the neutral (uncharged) neutron, n⁰. 

p⁺ = n⁰ + W⁺

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p⁺¹ = n⁰ + W⁺¹

= p⁺ (u^2/3d^-1/3 + u^2/3) = n⁰ (u^2/3d^-1/3+ d^-1/3) + W⁺

p⁺ = u^2/3d^-1/3 + u^2/3

n⁰ = u^2/3d^-1/3+ d^-1/3

u^2/3 = (d^-1/3   + W⁺¹)

(charge on: u = 2/3; d = -1/3; W⁺ = 1; p⁺ = 1; n⁰ = 0)

p⁺=  udu

n⁰=  udd

The final reaction is the conversion of the proton (p⁺ ) into a neutron (n⁰) by the weak force carrier, W⁺, converting an up quark into a down quark

  p⁺ = n⁰ + W⁺

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Here is the ‘miracle’: The neutron does not feel the electromagnetic force. It only responds to the weak and strong nuclear forces. Now the Sun’s gravitational force does not have to worry about the impossibility of overcoming the electromagnetic repulsive force between two positively charged hydrogen nuclei, the protons, p⁺/p⁺, and is able to easily push a proton and a neutral neutron, p⁺/n⁰, to within fusion distance, which is within a millionth of a nanometer. At this distance the neutron/proton pair begins to feel the strong nuclear force of attraction. Only 0.07% of the hydrogen in the Sun's core undergoes the above reaction to convert positively charged protons into neutrons. No particular proton in the center of the Sun knows when and if it will become a neutron. Just randomly, a relative rare few, 7 protons out of 10,000, turn into neutrons and now gravity is able to nudge neutrons and protons together. Each of the seven newly minted neutrons quickly and easily partner up in a grand waltz with seven protons, as  thousands of surrounding protons look on. The seven waltzing p⁺/n⁰ pairs fuse together and ignite. Let me underscore how minuscule, relatively speaking, this amount is: seven protons, (7), out of ten thousand, (10,000), are randomly chosen to become neutrons and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-three protons, (9,993), out of ten thousand, (10,000), are not so blessed. Even so, this is still a mind boggling amount of subatomic particles; more than a billion trillion trillion protons and neutrons, or the conversion of Mount Everest into pure energy every hour.


These 7 proton/neutron pairs among 10, 000 in the Sun’s core now begin to burn, as the strong nuclear force takes firm hold and power their transformation into thermonuclear energy; and you have the miracle of shining sunlight. Gravity behaves as matchmaker and with the help of the strong nuclear force binds them to each other in heavenly matrimony. As a Mount Everest amount of proton/neutron pairs fuse and ignite and burn to helium ash every hour of everyday, they cause the Sun to light up the previously eternal night with thermonuclear fire, thus creating daylight and separating the day from the night.  Sol has been generating thermonuclear heat like this every day for more than four and a half billion years and he is expected to keep showering sunlight upon us like this every day for at least another four billion more.

The astrophysicist is absolutely correct. It is absolutely impossible, and it would only take a miracle, for the Sun's gravitational force of attraction to overcome the protons’ more than a trillion trillion trillion trillion times greater repulsive force to get them within the fusion distance of a millionth of a nanometer. We only have sunlight thanks to quantum mechanics and its weak force converting naked hydrogen atoms, protons, into neutrons. Any positively charged proton can be one of the lucky seven inside the Sun’s central furnace to randomly become an uncharged neutron, and 7 protons out of 10, 000 core protons, luckily for us, randomly do so, converting 0.07% of the Sun's central nuclear hydrogen mass  into pure energy.

What are the consequences for a positively charged proton deep within the heart of the Sun? Here is the other miracle: It is an extremely rare event for a proton to decay into a neutron. The reverse process, converting neutrons into protons, is child's play and happens here on earth often enough. The only place protons become neutrons is in stars, and protons do not become neutrons anywhere else. We are lucky protons do not decay anywhere else though, otherwise atoms, including all the ones on our Earth and in our bodies would have long decayed. A proton is so very stable it is conservatively estimated to have a half-life of much longer than one thousand billion, billion, billion years, or older than God. This means, if you had a pile of a hundred protons (or a SUV made just from protons). It would take thirty billion billion times the age of the universe for half of it to disappear! If the proton had a half-life of over seven billion years, like the longest lived radioactive particle, Uranium 235, we would not be here. The universe has been around for about fourteen billion years; all the protons in the universe would have disappeared about seven billion years ago, taking us and everything else of any importance with them. In fact, we would not even be a twinkle in Mother Nature’s eyes, since life only started to evolve here only about three and a half billion years ago. We are also lucky that protons decay in the Sun, albeit 0.07%  (but who is looking a gift horse in the mouth!). If they didn't decay some of the time within stars into neutrons, we would be fresh out of luck because there would be no sunlight!

It happens only in stars only when confronted by the sorcery of the W⁺ boson, the quantum mechanical weak force. And so, through W⁺ voodoo influences, a relative few of Sol's core naked hydrogen atoms are bewitched into converting into gravity pushover neutrons. With its W⁺ magic wand, the Sun accomplishes the seeming impossible; it does something that should not, and happily does not, occur anywhere else but happens sometimes rarely, but just enough, in Sol: Converts protons into anti-electromagnetic neutrons that fuse together after being nudged by gravity into the waiting arms of the strong nuclear force. Neutrons and protons are encouraged to within a millionth of a nanometer of each other and ignite; releasing the thermonuclear energy we call sunlight. If Sol didn't do the impossible, the miracle of life on Earth would be impossible