How is energy primarily transported in the convective zone of stars like the Sun?
Answer
Hotter plasma rises, cools, and sinks back down
In stars similar to the Sun, the outermost interior layer responsible for transporting energy is the convective zone. Here, the material has cooled sufficiently that energy transfer via pure photon diffusion becomes inefficient. Therefore, energy transfer shifts to convection, a process analogous to boiling water. Hotter plasma near the boundary with the radiative zone gains thermal energy, becomes buoyant, and rises towards the surface to release heat. After cooling near the surface, this plasma becomes denser and sinks back down toward the hotter interior to be reheated, creating continuous circulation cells.
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