From a scientific viewpoint, what would happen if the sun just stopped
producing light and heat in an instant? What would happen on the day and
night sides of the Earth respectively? How long would it take for the Earth
to freeze - what would the lowest temperature be? What would happen to the
weather systems in the atmosphere, how long would it take for life to become
extinct? Would there still be electricity? For how long? Forgetting about
the social and political aspects of it?

Anyone want to be curious about this and give some answers?

Jeremy (not Chris)

"Chris Handscomb" wrote in message
...
From a scientific viewpoint, what would happen if the sun just stopped
producing light and heat in an instant? What would happen on the day and
night sides of the Earth respectively? How long would it take for the
Earth
to freeze - what would the lowest temperature be? What would happen to the
weather systems in the atmosphere, how long would it take for life to
become
extinct? Would there still be electricity? For how long? Forgetting about
the social and political aspects of it?

Anyone want to be curious about this and give some answers?

Jeremy (not Chris)


Hi Jeremy,
A very strange question indeed.
The sun could never stop producing heat and light in an instant of course,
to do that it would have to vanish from existence and in that process (if it
were possible) it's mass would create vast amounts of energy. E=MC².
But let's suppose the mass of the sun could just vanish without trace. The
whole Earth would instantly be plummeted into perpetual night - no moonlight
or planets to see in the sky - just starlight. The planet would no longer
be bound in a gravitational orbit and would just travel freely through
space.
The instant effects would be vast I guess. On the surface the air would
rapidly cool down. Without solar energy, convection and evaporation would
cease within a few days. All water vapour would precipitate or condense out
of the sky, the air would cool very rapidly - then the land and seas.
Oceans would freeze within 2 weeks probably, then the very air we breathe
would condense out of the atmosphere and eventually freeze as solid Nitrogen
and Oxygen etc on the surface. I'm not sure of the timescale - but this
would all happen within a month I reckon.
The effects on the planet beneath the surface would be equally dramatic no
doubt.
Forget about electricity or weather, they would disappear.
Gradually the earth would cool down to the temperature of empty space (3°K?
/ -270°C).
I'm sure a book could be written on the additional effects I've neglected.
I hope my glimpse into some of the possible effects sheds some light on
your question(s) anyway.
Alex.

"Chris Handscomb"
wrote in message
...
From a scientific viewpoint, what would happen
if the sun just stopped
producing light and heat in an instant? What
would happen on the day and
night sides of the Earth respectively? How long
would it take for the Earth
to freeze - what would the lowest temperature
be? What would happen to the
weather systems in the atmosphere, how long
would it take for life to become
extinct? Would there still be electricity? For
how long? Forgetting about
the social and political aspects of it?

Anyone want to be curious about this and give
some answers?

A bit of guessing here, given some kind of cosmic
fire extinguisher thing......

Surface temperature would be below zero across the
whole surface of the earth within a few days. The
oceans hold an enormous amount of heat and what we
would probably recognise as weather systems would
continue until they froze to a great enough depth
to insulate what heat remains trapped below to
such an extent that there was little to
differentiate between frozen water and land (in
the order of 10's of metres, which would take
several months). Thereafter there would be little
meridonal flow (N-S/S-N). After a year or two or
three surface temperature would be 100K, or less
with little or no wind at the surface. Life as we
know it would have ceased, but some deep ocean
beasties may survive. I doubt access to
nuclear/fossil fuels would help us much. Some
bacteria may survive in deep freeze for millennia,
most gasses would have liquefied/solidified at
this kind of timescale, with temperature not far
off cosmic microwave background radiation values.

You could run a GCM (global circulation model) and
swich off the sun, there are a few avilable that
will run on a PC, but I don't think any that will
deal with the freezing of the oceans in a
resonable way.

Alex Stephens Jnr wrote:

"Chris Handscomb" wrote in message
...

From a scientific viewpoint, what would happen if the sun just stopped
producing light and heat in an instant? What would happen on the day and
night sides of the Earth respectively? How long would it take for the

Earth

to freeze - what would the lowest temperature be? What would happen to the
weather systems in the atmosphere, how long would it take for life to

become

extinct? Would there still be electricity? For how long? Forgetting about
the social and political aspects of it?

Anyone want to be curious about this and give some answers?

Jeremy (not Chris)



Hi Jeremy,
A very strange question indeed.

It's an interesting, metaphorical question

The sun could never stop producing heat and light in an instant of course,
to do that it would have to vanish from existence and in that process (if it
were possible) it's mass would create vast amounts of energy. E=MC².

*BANG*

But let's suppose the mass of the sun could just vanish without trace. The
whole Earth would instantly be plummeted into perpetual night - no moonlight
or planets to see in the sky - just starlight. The planet would no longer
be bound in a gravitational orbit and would just travel freely through
space.

Not true. The Earth would still be bound by the gravitational effects of
the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Pluto
and all the other bits of rock and gas in the solar system.

The instant effects would be vast I guess. On the surface the air would
rapidly cool down. Without solar energy, convection and evaporation would
cease within a few days. All water vapour would precipitate or condense out
of the sky, the air would cool very rapidly - then the land and seas.

It cools quickly enough at sunset and during eclipses!

Oceans would freeze within 2 weeks probably, then the very air we breathe
would condense out of the atmosphere and eventually freeze as solid Nitrogen
and Oxygen etc on the surface. I'm not sure of the timescale - but this
would all happen within a month I reckon.
The effects on the planet beneath the surface would be equally dramatic no
doubt.

The planet itself should retain a significant amount of heat I guess.
It's hot down there!

Forget about electricity or weather, they would disappear.

Electricity wouldn't disappear.

Gradually the earth would cool down to the temperature of empty space (3°K?
/ -270°C).

It would take a significant amount of time for this to happen fully; the
core temperature of the Earth would be retained for quite a while.

I'm sure a book could be written on the additional effects I've neglected.
I hope my glimpse into some of the possible effects sheds some light on
your question(s) anyway.

Yes. If anyone has access, I'm sure certain parts of this question have
been answered by The Last Word column in the New Scientist magazine.

Jonathan

I dunno why we just don't give it a go?

"AliCat" wrote in message
...

Surface temperature would be below zero across the
whole surface of the earth within a few days. The
oceans hold an enormous amount of heat and what we
would probably recognise as weather systems would
continue until they froze to a great enough depth
to insulate what heat remains trapped below to
such an extent that there was little to
differentiate between frozen water and land (in
the order of 10's of metres, which would take
several months). Thereafter there would be little
meridonal flow (N-S/S-N). After a year or two or
three surface temperature would be 100K, or less
with little or no wind at the surface. Life as we
know it would have ceased, but some deep ocean
beasties may survive. I doubt access to
nuclear/fossil fuels would help us much. Some
bacteria may survive in deep freeze for millennia,
most gasses would have liquefied/solidified at
this kind of timescale, with temperature not far
off cosmic microwave background radiation values.


I would imagine vast anticyclones of unimaginable intensity would quickly
form over all land masses, even the tropical ones. The Sahara can
become quite cold at night even now.
The temperature contrast from the still warm oceans to that over the land
would be enormous. I think that the weather in continental fringes such
as the UK would be 'interesting' to say the least!
Ferocious blizzards would result, the snow probably piling up many metres
high. But of course unlike now when the mild air often wins the cold air will
push relentlessly on into the Atlantic.......

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 20:39:52 +0100, "Col"
wrote:

I would imagine vast anticyclones of unimaginable intensity would quickly
form over all land masses, even the tropical ones. The Sahara can
become quite cold at night even now.
The temperature contrast from the still warm oceans to that over the land
would be enormous. I think that the weather in continental fringes such
as the UK would be 'interesting' to say the least!
Ferocious blizzards would result, the snow probably piling up many metres
high. But of course unlike now when the mild air often wins the cold air will
push relentlessly on into the Atlantic.......

Oh my God! Does that mean endless snow reports from Nguk








--
Paul

"Paul C" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 20:39:52 +0100, "Col"
wrote:

I would imagine vast anticyclones of unimaginable intensity would quickly
form over all land masses, even the tropical ones. The Sahara can
become quite cold at night even now.
The temperature contrast from the still warm oceans to that over the land
would be enormous. I think that the weather in continental fringes such
as the UK would be 'interesting' to say the least!
Ferocious blizzards would result, the snow probably piling up many metres
high. But of course unlike now when the mild air often wins the cold air will
push relentlessly on into the Atlantic.......

Oh my God! Does that mean endless snow reports from Nguk

Yup

And with him being in the east he'll be one of the first to be claiming
that he's seen flakes of solid nitrogen floating down as the air freezes out!

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk

Sir Fred Hoyle touched on this subject with his (science fiction) book "The
Black Hole" when a small black hole came between the Earth and the Sun, same
effect.

My hapenny's worth.

Les

--
Les Crossan,
Wallsend, Tyne & Wear 55N 01-30W,
Home of the Wallsend Stormcam - http://www.uksevereweather.org.uk

"Chris Handscomb" wrote in message
...
From a scientific viewpoint, what would happen if the sun just stopped
producing light and heat in an


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On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 20:58:32 +0100, "Col"
wrote:

"Paul C" wrote in message

Oh my God! Does that mean endless snow reports from Nguk

Yup

And with him being in the east he'll be one of the first to be claiming
that he's seen flakes of solid nitrogen floating down as the air freezes out!

Well Carbon Dioxide snow would be first, at a bit below -78.5 deg C.
It would be interesting to see the effects of breathing air low on C02
as it gradually condensed out of the atmosphere. Fortunately(?) for
the unfortunate few left on earth, Oxygen and Nitrogen would remain as
gases way down to the minus 200s. Would they go out on a high?

--
Dave