What temperature, exceeding that of the photosphere, is reached in the Sun's core where nuclear fusion takes place?
Answer
15 million degrees Celsius
The extreme conditions necessary for sustained nuclear fusion deep within the solar interior drive the material into the plasma state. The text specifies that the Sun’s core temperature surpasses 15 million degrees Celsius. This immense thermal energy is vastly greater than the temperature of the visible surface, the photosphere, which is only about 5,500 degrees Celsius. For context, this core heat is exponentially higher than the 100 degrees Celsius required for water to boil into steam (a gas) at standard pressure, ensuring virtually complete ionization of the core material.
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