Description of the Experience
This topic has already been mentioned at the first stage of primary school. Pupils take it for granted, but if you ask them for some details they do not have an idea. The most common mistake is that the whole universe can be represented under the solar system. However, there is an "infinite" number (a lot) of such universes where the central body is the star and around are located the orbit elements. At least we can say that about that part of the universe about which we learn through powerful telescopes.
The central body of our solar system, the Sun is a star. This is also n unknown fact to the students. Sun is currently located approximately in the middle of its existence, which is about 4.5 billion years. The existence of stars can be compared with the existence of man. One is born, there is a period of life time and then it dies. Based on observations of other stars and the mass of the Sun there is a predictable description of death available. It does not happen suddenly in one moment, it is a much longer period of time. People are not accustomed to think in millions of years. Sun is not a solid body. It is a gaseous sphere, respectively to us it seems like a ball given the distance. There is 150,000,000 km separating us from the Sun. This distance is called the astronomical unit - 1 AU. For comparison, the moon is away from us 384,000 km. Reactions occur on the Sun. It is merging of hydrogen isotopes that form different elements. These reactions occur at the inside of a star where the temperature is millions of degrees Celsius. While the sunlight, which for us is so taken for granted needs to pass a few million years before it gets to the surface of the Sun and then another eight minutes, until it overcomes the distance to Earth. Related to the emergence of quantum physics and Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect, the "particle" of light is named a photon.
In each moment there eruptions of gas that occur in the Sun. with every such moment a part of Sun wanes, due to the reactions that happen. If we added up the weight of all the bodies that were found in the Solar System, this sum would be negligible compared to the weight of Sun. Scientists examine various aspects of the Sun, and the rotation of its existence is so complex that two astrophysicists, who deal with the Sun, do not necessarily understand each other.
Although it is a high school and outside is cloudy, when I asked whether the sun is shining now, they said that it was not. Even then it is actually a part of the atmosphere and becomes the surface light source.
In the classroom I have a big picture of the Solar System, which in a certain scale simulates the real situation. Students regard the Sun as something certain and more closer information surprises them quite a bit. In the past the Sun was associated with gold, probably because of its color, the color of Sun depends on the surface temperature - 6000 degrees Celsius.
This topic is attractive for pupils. They are not taught any physical equations here and do not have to calculate anything.
I evaluate my experience as positive.
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