Convection

Abstract

The energy generated in the solar core must be carried to the surface. In Chap. 2 radiation was treated as one possible way of energy transport. Another is convection, where internal energy, sometimes including latent heat, is carried along with the motion of matter. We know that convection is quite efficient in distributing heat in rooms, and we shall see in the present chapter that convection is also an efficient carrier of solar energy, at least in the outer layer between a depth of ≈ 200 000 km and the surface. The stratification of this outer layer is unstable, much like the stratification of the Earth’s troposphere which becomes unstable when the ground is heated.