Answer 1:
N, Jupiter does NOT give out more energy
than the
sun. But Jupiter does generate heat from
within.
In fact all planets generate internal heat. For
the small rocky planets like Earth and Mars most
of this energy comes from radioactive decay.
However this internal production of heat is
SWAMPED by the heat absorbed by the Sun. For the
Jovian or GAS Planets however, the situation is a
little different. For the outer gas giants, solar
heating contributes less (because the Sun is much
farther away). Internal heat is generated when a
mass in a gravitationally bound object sinks
closer to the center of attraction- that is, when
the object becomes more centrally condensed. So
for Jupiter which was hot when it formed it
continues to this day to slowly contract as it
cools down from its initially hot state. This is
called the Kelvin Helmholtz gravitational energy
release process. On top of that there is the
differential motion of Helium relative to Hydrogen
and because Helium is denser, as Helium sinks
towards the center preferentially further
potential energy is liberated as heat. The
internal heat generation of Jupiter is about 6
Watts per square meter. The amount of sun energy
that falls onto Jupiter is about 10 watts per
square meter. So unlike the case on Earth
Jupiter's output due to internal processes
(contraction) is about half as large as the input
due to sunlight falling on its clouds. |
Answer 2:
This is a great question. It is not true that
Jupiter gives off more heat than the Sun. The Sun
actually gives off 1,000,000 (One million) times
more heat than Jupiter does in the same amount of
time. The sun is a star and Jupiter is a
planet.
Stars have higher temperatures and larger masses
than planets which allows for heat producing
reactions to occur inside the stars. Most of the
heat that planets give off comes from breaking
down radioactive atoms and from reflection of the
Sun's energy. Click Here to return to the search form.
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